Irritatingly Selfless
by BoundaryBreaker
Summary: Audrey hates her job and her employer with his arrogant, playboy, fake personality and the way he flaunts his money. Alternatively, she admires his polar opposite, despite him being a masked vigilante. As Bruce chases after her and the Batman tries to get her to butt out, she becomes increasingly, and irritatingly, involved in the return of a notorious villain.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay... quickly try it again! Haha so this is the second (in reality more like eighteenth) edit of this that I'm posting, and you kind of will need to reread it, or I can give a summary in chapter two, if you read that original (not that anyone but three people did) so... yeah. A large review essentially obliterated this and stripped away my motherly love for it. And so we try again! (Note: _VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN ORIGINAL_)**

Audrey Habicht tapped her nails idly while sitting on the train, after it had been another long day at work, as if any were normal length, and so the sun had already been set for nearly an hour. In this particular car, there were five other people; four men, one woman. Two men and the woman were drunk and acting rambunctiously in the rear of the car, whilst the other two men were in a heated staring contest, sitting across from eachother near the middle of the car. Audry herself sat at the very front, wanting to be as far as possible from any of the people on this train, as all five were a constant in her life and a part she never actually wanted to come in contact with. Her only need of proof for the drinkers was the sap who went drinking with them one time and ended up dressed like a woman and making out with another man with hickeys and herpes.

The other two, unidentified men were also a constant in Audrey's life and this train. They got on the stop after Audrey, then sat and either stared at eachother as if arguing with their eyes, or looked at Audrey at the front.

And poor Audrey Habicht at the front, was another constant on this train, perpetually arriving home at nine at night with the same tired look on her face and the same foreboding silence.

Not that Audrey expected much change in her life.

One of the sober men, the taller one who always wore a black trench coat, stood up and approached Audrey, pulling her from her depressed thoughts. He sat down beside her, giving her appropriate space, and smiled kindly at her, exposing brilliant white teeth. She offered him a smile back, unable to actually be depressed for long.

"Hello. My name is Bynes. Jethro Bynes." he commented, leaning back. Audrey gave a light laugh at the way he chose to phrase his introduction, and when a draft rustled his perfectly styled chestnut hair.

"And I'm Audrey Habicht. Nice to meet you Jethro." she acknowledged his introduction with one of her own.

"So what is a beautiful woman like yourself doing on this train, every night, alone?" Audrey's smile flickered, almost like it died and came back at the mention of her daily routine.

"Work. I go in at eight and stay till nine." she muttered while Jethro frowned playfully, gripping a lock of her honey brown, shoulder blade length hair between his fingers and twisting it around his finger.

"Pity. Though the sleep you get does you well." Audrey inhaled deeply at the inappropriate comment, then caught the scent of something everyone knew well, here in Gotham. The odor was oily and herb like, with a faint edge to it – impossible to describe, but completely identifiable. She stood abruptly as they announced the next stop, then moved toward the automated double doors.

"Well it was nice meeting you, Jethro, but now it's my stop." she lied, knowing it was complete bull shit like Jethro did, as the train slowed.

"But it isn't, dear. I know your stop." he pointed out, rising to join her and bring her back.

"Change of plans tonight. Staying with a friend for the weekend." and with that, Audrey slid straight through the gap in the doors and moved quickly away down the metal walkway.. The doors shut some two minutes later as she descended the metal steps, allowing her ample time to turn and see Jethro's face slammed against the glass, flesh spread out like an invisible force was pulling in it. She made a disgusted face at him, nose crinkled and lips drawn, then turned and walked down the old metal stairs, the clicking of her annoying heels announcing her presence to anyone around. Audrey sighed, then turned to flag down a cab at the sidewalk, and failed miserably as cab by cab drove by. She shook out her arms, then began the ten block walk, only to be stopped halfway home by a leathery, calloused hand on her slim wrist. She stumbled into the alley as the person dragged her and dropped her purse before she even got inside. Rough hands twisted her to look at their owner, and icy blue orbs fell upon a rugged man. His face was the same as his hands, rough and leathery with a blonde stubble all around. His hair was cropped short, perhaps a half an inch in length, and was in stark contrast to his pitch black eyes, that lacked the glow of a soul.

"Hello dear." his scratchy voice cawed, soundly haughty, like he'd caught the perfect prey. Audrey's eyes went wide and she felt the beginnings of a tremor in her gut, but fought to retain control over her skin. Gooseflesh rippled from her tail bone, up her back and down her arms. The man stroked her jaw with a curled finger, and then slammed her against a brick wall. The edges of the bricks dug into her flesh and her head spun with the force of the impact. A whoosh sounded, like the falling of a thin blanket, and then a somewhat heavy thud like a _wet_ blanket was dropped off a roof. Audrey's wrists were freed within seconds and while she tried to make her head stop spinning, the sounds of a fight, more appropriately a domination, began. The harsh crack of bone against bone, the splitting of skin, a cry of pain, and a thud of a body. Audrey lifted her head, world still now, and looked at her rescuer.

His black cape flapped gently in the breeze, and other than the spattering of bloody across his torso, he looked immaculately clean, especially for someone who must spend much time in the disgusting parts of town. Audrey's eyes migrated from his heavy combat worthy boots up his armour plated legs and gold utility belt to his muscled chest and black cowl. Through her anxiety and adrenaline rush, her only real logical thought was; _Does he wear eyeliner?_

The Batman spared Audrey only a glimpse before taking to the sky, flying upward and disappearing in the haze of the night. Audrey watched the heels of his boots until he was completely invisible, then looked back to the man who had attacked her. She looked at him long and hard for nearly fifteen minutes while her nerves settled and the moisture began to soak her clothes. After rolling her bottom lip in and chewing on it for a few more wet minutes, she decided on what she thought was the only good course of action. She grabbed the man's wrists and prayed he remained unconscious while she commenced dragging him to the nearest hospital. That nearest hospital just happened to be fifteen blocks away, past her apartment building, and bustling with people in the ER.

Deciding it would be better to leave the man and flee, Audrey lugged him through the glass doors, let go of his wrists, turn, and escaped outside. Back outside, she became increasingly aware of the humidity, the dampness of her clothes, and the frizzing of her bun. With measured urgency, she began walking back five blocks East, then a block North to get home.

Once the door was shut behind her, Audrey realized two things that caused a loud groan to emanate from her, like she was pained.

One, she could have just called the police and had them take the criminal.

Two, she left her purse by the alley, with her wallet, ID, train pass and such.

The needs to cry and sleep were weighed in Audrey's mind, but sleep quickly won out and she stripped without bothering to eat or put on pajamas, and collapsed in bed.

Audrey entered the office the next day, feet already aching like a particularly bad hangover after a long night out with shots of Scotch.

"You're a little late." her best friend, and the next secretary over, commented. Audrey shot her a poisonous look that would kill a battle hardened man, prompting Jayden to throw her hands up in surrender.

"Sorry. Need coffee?" Audrey shot another pointed look at the mocha skinned woman, but the anger behind it was a dying ember.

"You know I don't drink that stuff." Audrey responded glumly, sitting down at her desk in front of her boss's office. Bruce Wayne came in everyday without fail, and she never had to tell him a thing. So, she assisted Jayden with her work for Mr. Fox, and got paid a little bit more for not doing her own job.

"Mr. Wayne!" someone ahead of their area cried in greeting. Audrey looked up at Mr. Bruce Wayne in all his handsomeness. Beautifully slicked brown hair, captivating hazel eyes, chiseled muscles visible behind his dress shirt, polished shoes and serious demeanor. The very thought of him made Audrey want to throw up. He continued walking, straight up to Audrey's desk, and looked at her like she was a butterfly in the house. Completely irrelevant and useless.

"Ms. Habicht." he greeted indifferently, with a hint of something unusual mixed in.

"Mr. Wayne." she responded with just as much emotion, if not less. Calling what they had a relationship was a blatant lie, as they had barely said a hundred words to eachother in the course of a few years.

"Would you like to get coffee with me?" Jayden snorted at her desk, but tried to hide it. Audrey shot a discreet look at her, then returned her gaze to her employer.

"I don't drink coffee, sir." he equipped a heart melting smile that made Audrey's stomach churn.

"Have you ever tried it before?" Audrey had to force herself not to roll her eyes and completely ignore the man.

"Yes I've tried it before."

"What don't you like about it?"

"It's bitter and burns my throat."

"French vanilla cappuccinos aren't bitter."

"I am not getting a coffee with you, sir. I have a job to do, and I'm not going to entertain you." Audrey could feel Mr. Wayne's eyes on her even after she turned away and began typing an email announcement that Mr. Wayne had free time and if anyone wanted him to come to their department, that they need only speak up. After a brief second, he shifted his attention to the other woman in this area of the floor.

"Ms. White." he nearly purred. Audrey gagged quietly.

"Mr. Wayne." Jayden purred right back, inducing a retching in Audrey that only Jayden could see. Jayden, of course, giggled at her friend's spasm.

"How are you doing today?"

"Quite fine, thank you. And you, sir?" Audrey pondered, as her fingers moved swiftly over the keys of her computer, if Mr. Wayne knew that Jayden was making fun of higher class people. Her answer was delivered in his next words.

"Oh quite elegantly. The sun is bright and warm, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the people are living. All in all, a fairly good day I'd say." Audrey closed her eyes and debated going to the bathroom and not coming back for a few hours, if she had to listen to Jayden flirt shamelessly with one of their bosses, and Mr. Wayne flirt shamelessly and conform to whatever type of personality Jayden is pretending to want today. This flirting thing happened twice a year, if that, and it had a basic timetable to it every time.

Mr. Wayne only wanted to flirt with one of them to waste time prior to a meeting, because he had nothing better to do. He always started off with trying to get Audrey to do something, and she always turned him down rather rudely. Once he had been rejected twice, sometimes three or four times, he would move on to Jayden, who was always a good sport and loved the male attention. In thirty or forty minutes, Mr. Wayne had a meeting, and Audrey would remind him about it. He would act like he forgot and leave, with a promise to talk to Jayden again. Jayden then would gush about him afterward, and Audrey would call her friend a nimrod and attention whore.

"Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue?" Jayden questioned. Audrey knew Mr. Wayne knew the answer. He was a smart man and Jayden loved making him talk smart because it turned her on.

"I have, and I know why." he responded rather snootily.

"Why?"

"The molecules in the air, such as the water vapour, reflect various colours of light, much like things on the surface do. You're shawl is black because the pigment in it absorbs all of the light molecules. So, the molecules reflect the various colours, but the most prominent of them is blue."

"Wow! You're so smart." _You're such an attention whoreeeee. _Audrey droned in her mind. She meant it affectionately, of course, but it was a hot topic between the two, as they both knew it and yet Jayden refused to change her irritating ways. _What would happen, _Audrey often wondered, _if Jayden simply refused to entertain Mr. Wayne and fuel his playboy ego?_

_The apocalypse. _Audrey usually concluded. So she went on, ignoring the sexually charged banter from Jayden back to the actually quite arrogant and disinterested Mr. Wayne's retorts. Sometimes she felt she'd rather have a root canal.

"Alright then, since you're so smart, let's have us a... oh like a Jeopardy contest." Audrey exhaled heavily and pulled up a draft of an email she and Jayden were supposed to be composing. Despite herself and her disdain for Bruce Wayne, she found herself paying more attention to the slackers than her work.

"Alright. You go first, and we can keep score." Audrey could imagine Jayden tapping her index finger against her lined lips, drawing attention to the dark shade of brown and how full they were, with a perfect shape and such.

"What is the actual name of the so called 'funny bone', and what is it really?"

"The ulnar nerve and a nerve. Where was Johann Sebastian Bach born?"

"Eisenach, Germany. What is the dot over an 'I' called?"

"A tiddle. On average, how many newborns are given to the wrong parents daily?" the one stumped Jayden for a few moments, as that was never the kind of obscure trivia she'd forced Audrey to help her find.

"Six?"

"Twelve."

"Damn. How many times larger is the sun than the earth?"

"Two hundred and fifty six thousand."

"Ha ha! No! Three hundred and thirty thousand, three hundred and thirty times larger." Audrey rolled her eyes at Jayden's exuberance. It was a meaningless game to waste time because Mr. Wayne didn't feel like being productive and used women like napkins.

"How many calories are there in a stamp?" this earned a snort from Jayden.

"I'm a woman. I count calories, love. One tenth of a calorie. Who was the last man to set foot on the moon?"

"Eugene Cernan. What is the Spanish word for table?"

"Meso. Wh-"

"Wrong. Mesa." Audrey couldn't stand it any longer, so she locked her computer, stood up, and fled calmly to the bathroom. The beautiful silence upon entering the women's bathroom was like euphony to Audrey's ears. Three years Jayden had been trying to sleep with Mr. Wayne just to say she did. Three years she'd been failing. Three years she kept trying.

Audrey banged her head on a stall door to keep her from being a psychotic bitch. She spent the next ten minutes doing anything possible to keep from going back. Figuring out the mechanics of the toiletry dispenser, seeing how hot the water from the sink could get, what the dimensions of the mirror are in inches measuring with her finger, fixing the hand drier.

After the ten minutes were successfully spent, Audrey marched her way out of the bathroom and back to her desk.

"Mr. Wayne you have a meeting in-"

"How old is the Earth?" Mr. Wayne challenged.

"Four point six billion years. Mr. Wayne you have a meeting in three minutes on the twenty third floor." Audrey informed him. Both people turned to look at her, and she looked at them both back, trying to figure out why they thought she didn't know things. Mr. Wayne stood and so did Jayden, who then flattened out her skirt and blouse, trying to look her best for the man she would never have. Jayden held out her hand, and Mr. Wayne took it, then instead of shaking it, brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles before moving swiftly to the elevator. Jayden collapsed into her black roller chair and Audrey leaned against her white marble counter top.

"He kissed me." Jayden breathed, her dark skin turning a deep crimson colour. Everything suddenly began to look very light in contrast to the dark African American across from Audrey.

"He kissed your knuckles." Audrey corrected, "And you know it will never happen."

"But he kissed me!" Jayden insisted.

"And he's slept with people he's known for less time." that put Jayden off for a moment.

"He's just taking it slow with me because he really likes me."

"You are unbelievably self conceited."

**Again I say, vastly different than the original. Thank you CloudyDream for your constructive criticism and advice. Literally, every chapter after this I will think of what you said. C:**

**Until next time, doves.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Splat! I went after the first like, what, two hours of posting? Jeez. Just kidding. It was great advice. Hoping you – ahem – find this better. And the summary for youz who didn't reread the new first chapter;**

**Audrey's no longer BA right off, she's kind of a wimp and nearly gets raped and mugged until Batman saves her.**

**She drags the mugger to the hospital, forgets her purse.**

**Audrey has to walk to work the next day, then listens to Bruce and Jayden banter and have a mini Jeopardy game before his meeting.**

**Bruce wins and kisses Jayden's hand before leaving.**

**THE END.**

***I know I'm already late, but my birthday is tomorrow and my family's celebrations take like, a week. Sorry. :3**

Audrey was feeling pretty smug about herself, after having finally knocked Jayden off her imagined high horse by noon and getting the woman back to work. When five o'clock rolled around and most of the people were leaving, Jayden and Audrey were working their asses off on finishing an email that was supposed to be by Mr. Wayne to the staff about recent thefts occurring along the lines of purses and wallets in the building. Of course, Mr. Wayne didn't write it himself. No, the secretaries joined together to right it, with authority from Fox to say what was needed.

Someone tapping on the marble counter around Jayden's desk began the slow return to reality for Audrey as she watched Jayden type.

"One moment." she said to the person, then commented to Jayden, "No, right there, you need to say 'Anyone who is caught in possession of another employee's belongings without express permission from the employee will be fired on the spot.'"

"That's kind of harsh, isn't it, Odd?"

"We're pretending to be an exec. We're allowed to be harsh. Besides, I think that's what Mr. Wayne would do."

"I agree, that's what I would do." both women jumped visibly at Mr. Wayne's voice, and looked at him. Audrey turned a shade of pink while Jayden kept her composure. Although, blush couldn't be seen through her dark brown skin regardless.

"Are we sending out fake emails for me, ladies?" he questioned. Audrey sat up straight in her chair.

"Yes, under Mr. Fox's authority."

"About a rash of thefts in the building?"

"Yes sir." Mr. Wayne cringed as she said the word sir, and she realized she'd never seen him portray that kind of emotion before.

"How long is that going to take?"

"At least another hour." Jayden replied. Mr. Wayne seemed dumbfounded by the amount of time it took to forge an email, and Audrey just turned back to the computer.

"Ms. Habicht, may I speak with you in private?" Audrey glanced back at Mr. Wayne, confused, then stood up and followed him into his office with a glance back at Jayden, who was playfully glaring at her.

Mr. Wayne shut the door behind himself, then looked at Audrey.

"I have a job for you."

"I have a job." she pointed out, rather unnecessarily. Mr. Wayne's face twitched slightly as he hid some facial expression from Audrey, and she wondered what would happen if she was nicer to him. Apparently her life was comprised of a bunch of 'What if's.

"I have an additional job. You will be compensated."

"Speak now." Audrey cursed the slip in her professional manner, letting through her usual way of speaking. A slightly amused smirk found it's way onto Mr. Wayne's lips, and she forced herself not to think about how perfectly shaped they were.

"I need you to hurt yourself." her jaw dropped, regardless of whether she wanted it to or not.

"Excuse me?" she questioned, somewhat indignant, "Why can't you hurt yourself?" she placed her hands on her hips in her classic, 'I'm in disbelief' pose.

"There are two reasons for my request. Well, three. I believe you can handle hurting yourself, it has to be someone I trust, and we're trying to root out a mole."

"A mole. Doesn't that sound a little too... spy movie like?" Audrey questioned, still not believing a word out of his mouth.

"A little, yes. There was a release of photos from a competing company about this particular project, and the machine in the photos is nearly identical to ours."

"How does this equate to me hurting myself?"

"The machine is a full body scanner that locates and diagnoses whatever your ailment is." it dawned on Audrey what he was really asking her to do then, and she rolled in her lip to chew on it as she mulled this over.

"You want me to hurt myself severely enough that you can use me as a guinea pig for this machine and draw out the mole since he'll think the part can go missing for a few days."

"Exactly." Audrey rolled in her top lip as well and focused on a spec on the floor. After a minute, she knelt down to pick it up, then threw it out before answering.

"I'm game. How long do I have to mortally wound myself?"

"Within the week."

"Okay." she turned and left without so much as a goodbye to him, and sat back down in her seat.

"Ms. Habicht."

"Hm?" she looked back over her shoulder.

"I'm taking you home now." her eyes went wide, and she looked at the half finished email on her computer.

"I'm not done working."

"We do not need you to uphold your part tonight, and I would prefer to know you didn't die without your train pass." Audrey's look of surprise went to a narrow glare that she turned onto Jayden, whilst Jayden was looking anywhere but Audrey.

"Why would you tell someone that?" she questioned, a hard edge to her voice.

"It came up during Jeopardy." Jayden attempted to defend herself. Audrey shook her head and stood, feet throbbing in her heels. With a wince, she followed Mr. Wayne to the elevator, and then his car. The ride was silent, Audrey unsure of whether they should be talking, whether she should be mad at him, or whether she should be worried about his sanity. In this case, she felt a little of all three choices would be wise. However, the two were silent even as she got out of his expensive car in front of her ratty, eight story apartment building with shabby red brickwork. His car put the entire building to shame, and she did the walk of shame through the front door and up to her apartment. As soon as she was inside, she grabbed the phone and dialed Jayden's work number so they could finish the email still.

The next day only got better, as they refused to let her behind a desk to get to the elevator, due to her lost I.D.

"Oh come on! I just did this yesterday, without my I.D." the man behind the desk shook his head, bald head reflecting the lights above almost blindingly.

"Sorry ma'am. Either you find your I.D., or you can't come back." Audrey groaned, and then her attempts to persuade were further blocked by the phone ringing at the station. The man picked up the phone, and nestled in between his ear and his shoulder, while watching Audrey intently.

"Security." he answered, then shock crossed his features and the phone slipped slightly.

"Mr. Wayne." he greeted, still shocked as he caught the phone before it fell, "She has not entered the building yet, but there is a woman here claiming to be her." a short silence.

"She has no I.D., I can't let her pass." another silence, and then the man hung up. Audrey continued trying to argue with him, but he remained silent, until the executive elevator dinged, and out stepped Mr. Wayne. Relief spread across his features as his eyes met Audrey's, expressing an emotion she wasn't used to seeing on his face.

"Let's go."

"I can't come in to work, Mr. Wayne."

"Bruce. And why not?" Audrey eyed him as he told her to call him so informally. Still she replied.

"No I.D., no entrance." Mr. Wayne almost frowned. His lips twitched a little bit at the corners in a minuscule way that Audrey would have missed if she wasn't entranced by those wondrous lips of his.

Audrey pinched her arm to snap her out of her staring.

"Where's your I.D.?"

"In my purse." she openly frowned, trying to recall which alley she left it by. At this point in time, though, it was probably long gone.

"And where is that? At home?"

"Uh... no. I lost it." Mr. Wayne's gave an easy, well practiced smile that he must've worn often.

"Let's go." he repeated. Audrey shook her head, honey brown curls bouncing all over and nearly blinding her. In an act of uncharacteristic physicalness, he gripped her forearm and pulled her through the turn table, then into the _executive _elevator. Audrey simply glared at the floor, and he glanced at her.

"I did you a favour."

"You abused your authority." she corrected, "as majority share holder and a Wayne."

"You are an odd creature."

"No, I don't like rich people. Stop pretending to be friendly with me." Mr. Wayne said nothing more, and Audrey continued glaring at the ground until they reached their floor and Audrey quickly walked away from him and to her desk. Jayden wiggled her eyebrows at Audrey as she tried to calmly walk to her seat and sit down. Her feet were throbbing, her head ached, she was irritated and menstruating. All in all, it was a bad day for Audrey.

"Sharing elevators?" Jayden teased and Mr. Wayne passed on the way to his office.

"Helping the duller of us." Audrey found her mouth hanging wide open yet again because of Bruce Wayne as she watched him saunter into his office. Jayden hooked Audrey with an inquisitive gaze.

"You two certainly almost seem friendly."

"Never. I can't _believe _he just called me stupid. That spoilt, arrogant, narcissistic asshole." Jayden only laughed at Audrey's angle and swiveled around to face her own computer.

For the next seven work days, Audrey found vanilla beans on her desk in the morning before she got there, and immediately suspected that Jayden was trying to give Mr. Wayne hints to cracking Audrey like a pistachio – easy and quick.

On Sunday night, after finishing a movie at a local theater, Jayden and Audrey walked arm in arm back to Jayden's car. Where Jayden would drive, Audrey would walk. The problem; Jayden's car was three blocks away, and there was an accident blocking one of the major cross walks.

"Detour time." Jayden declared, turning down a dark alley that looked like it went on forever. Audrey's recent alley problem came to mind. Still they went, down one alley, and then another, and another, and another. Until they were hopelessly lost. The only bright side, was that in their wandering, Audrey had miraculously located her purse, wedged between a dumpster and a wall.

"Fuck..." Jayden groaned, looking around the dark alley. Metal trash cans glinted along the walls, and rats the size of pigeons ran past. Vaguely, Audrey wondered what the enormous rats ate that made them so big. Radioactive cat kibble?

"We can handle this," Audrey muttered to herself, "We just have to get back to the streets." this confidence quickly evaporated as a dingy looking man stepped out of the shadows and blocked the direction they had been going. Jayden spun on her heel, and shrieked at the man behind Audrey. As the two came closer, Audrey's mind worked quickly, shoving Jayden back into a wall, then lashing out at the first man with her sneaker covered foot and nailing him in the knee, sending him crashing to the ground. The second man caught her in the back with a fist to the spine, and strange tingles spread as well as blooming pain on the surface. Inexperienced in fighting as she was, Audrey knew the first man wasn't likely to get up. Thinking quickly like a trapped mouse, she let herself hit the pavement, cushioning herself with her hands, then rolled and grabbed a trashcan lid before popping up and swinging the lid at the man. He kicked the lid and Audrey slammed back down onto the pavement, head bouncing and stars bursting in her vision like tiny sparks. Her vision swam as she tried to make sense of her world. The dark pavement was spinning, the mortar and bricks were fusing together into a gross concoction of red gray things, and the sky seemed to be streaked with bright lights, like a string of Christmas lights thrown across the alley. A scream from Jayden broke Audrey out of her dizziness, and she launched to her feet and bashed the fool over the head with the tin lid. He crumpled like a rag doll between the two women.

"Audrey, you are bad ass, but now I'm scared." Jayden confessed. Audrey dusted off her skinny jeans, head still spinning.

"You don't think I am?" she gripped Jayden's elbow and dragged her out of the alley and onto the street, where the black armored car vehicle thing pulled to a halt in front of them. Audrey laughed under her breath, and Jayden gasped.

"Is that Batman?"

"Yes, I would assume so. Who else drives an armoured tank around town?" the hatch popped open on the top, and the Batman looked out at them.

"Stay home." he growled at Audrey. She cocked her head to the side, adrenaline pumping in her veins and her ears ringing.

"Excuse me?" she snapped, "I just took out two bloody thugs in that alley. Don't tell me to stay home." Batman pushed himself out of the vehicle and moved into the alley, swiftly and silently. Everything about the man screamed that he wasn't normal, nor real, but Audrey was in no mental state to deal with her illogical brain.

"They're gone." the menacing growl called from the alley.

"Oh darn." Audrey snapped and swung her right and across her body.

"I'm taking my friend to her car now. You can hunt them down." Audrey began dragging Jayden down the main street, then through another main street toward the lot. Jayden was completely silent and shaking life a leaf.

"Can you crash your car if you're shaking too badly?" Audrey pondered as she watched Jayden drive off, then began her own walk home.

Audrey had been fighting with a migraine all morning, and emptied her precious supplies of pain killers doing so. At ten, she decided work wasn't happening at all. Reaching out to the bedside table, she smacked her cell off it, then called Jayden.

"Babe, I am not coming in today."

"_That's too bad. What's wrong? Need me to come make you dinner?_" Audrey laughed, then winced.

"Splitting migraine after the event yesterday."

"_Aw, babe, I'm sorry._" in the background, you could faintly hear Mr. Fox saying, "_Ms. White, __the phone is not to be used for personal calls._"

"_It's not personal, Mr. Fox, I assure you. Audrey is calling in sick._"

"_Audrey is sick?_" Mr. Wayne's voice questioned in the background.

"_Migraine._" Audrey laughed, "_What's it to you Mr. I-Won't-Even-Try-And-Be-Friends-With-My-Secretary? And since when are you on a first name basis with her. Last I checked, she still called you Mr. Wayne._"

"Jayden, put it on speaker." there was a click, and then the sound of the office became so much louder.

"We had an incident yesterday while coming home from the movies and I got slammed around. I'll be fine tomorrow, I promise, but I can't concentrate on anything right now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"_Get well, Ms. Habicht._" Fox commented.

"_Bye Odd. I'll come be miserable with you after work._" Audrey laughed, then winced.

"Can't wait." she hung up, then let out a groan and dropped phone on the other side of her bed, curled up into a ball, and willed herself to sleep. Before she drifted off, she dimly became aware that she had her injury for Mr. Wayne.

A knock on the door woke Audrey up some time later, and she opened her eyes, then glanced at the clock.

"Six p.m?" she questioned groggily, then got up and slid to the door. She opened it, only to find Mr. Wayne on the outside.

"Are you stalking me via the company?"

"Perhaps." she smiled as he held out a bottle of Tylenol, and she laughed quietly.

"That's sweet." she took the bottle, then kissed his cheek and hugged him. She could feel his surprise at her actions, but frankly couldn't care enough that she was supposed to not like him.

"That's not all." she pulled back, and he held up his car keys.

"We're going to the Wayne Tower."

"What, so I don't heal before you can use me as a guinea pig?" Audrey teased.

"I don't want to give you too many days out of the office." Audrey barked out a laugh at his cheapness. He gripped her forearm, a second breach of personal space, and pulled her outside.

"You need to let me lock up at least. Please?" after a brief debate, he released her, and she walked back inside and grabbed the keys and flip flops. She locked the door on the way out, then allowed him to lead her down the stairs.

"Where are you going dressed like that, Habicht?" a neighbor questioned.

"The hospital." Audrey muttered, like a pouting child. The woman laughed, and Mr. Wayne whisked Audrey outside and into the rain for a moment before pushing her into the passenger seat of his expensive car. He ran around to the other side, then slammed the door after him. Audrey grabbed the seatbelt and buckled herself in.

Some ten minutes later, they were at the Wayne Tower, and Audrey laughed as he parked, then dragged her upstairs to the medical department.

"Cheapskate." she repeated her sentiment, following him into the main area.

"Mr. Wayne!" he nodded greeting to the head.

"Our test subject." he gestured to Audrey. After a second, the head of the division led her into a back room, followed by Mr. Wayne, where he urged Audrey to step into a full body scanner. After a second of fiddling with a screen, the scanner started up. Two minutes later, Mr. Wayne pulled her out rather gently compared to his rough treatment earlier.

"It appears you have a mild concussion to the back of your cerebrum. A fall?" she turned red.

"Yeah."

"Well, now your lab rat has been tested, and I should say that the machine is ready for mass production."

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." Mr. Wayne began to pull Audrey into his side, and she shoved away, causing her head to spin violently. As the colours twisted around her in a topsyturvy fashion, she leaned against the wall. It looked like Mr. Wayne was uncomfortable, but she couldn't see his face well enough to tell. It appeared that he gave an embarrassed grin, breaking his professional countenance.

"I'm too used to doing that." Audrey rolled her eyes once her world was aligned again, then began walking back to the parking garage.

"So tell me about this incident." heat flooded her cheeks as she recalled her pathetic attempt at fighting the night prior. Mr. Wayne spared her a glance.

"Audrey-"

"You really don't need to worry about me." he looked at her, and she laughed quietly.

"We're not friends, remember? You're just using me to your own ends."

"You version of handling a situation is not what I want to see again." she frowned at him.

"Since when can you say that to me? We have no personal relationship." she reminded him.

"I don't won't to deal with your death." then her rounded on her as the approached the car. Audrey took a step back and away from him, the chilly night air now getting to her and raising gooseflesh on her legs and arms.

"You're afraid to have friends." he decided. Audrey just cocked her head to the side and looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn't, alternatively getting into the driver's seat.

"On the bright side, I got my purse back last night."

"You were attacked twice." he began slowly, testing each word before moving on, making sure that it was neither too personal nor too impersonal, "That is how you lost your purse."

"Yeah."

"Was it the same man?"

"No. The man from the first time was taken to the hospital and arrested. However, I passed the dumpster I had placed my purse by, and found it still there." Audrey couldn't figure if she was lying or not by omitting the fact that the Batman had saved her the first time.

"And the attack from last night?"

"Why do you care?" Audrey questioned nonchalantly, like his sudden interest in her wasn't kind of scary and intimidating.

"Just answer the question."

"They escaped." the car fell silent for a few minutes as she awaited his next strange question.

"You and Ms. White perpetually stay after everyone else. What time do you usually leave?"

"Nine at night." Mr. Wayne spared a glance at Audrey, taking his eyes off the road in the downpour, but said nothing more. It was obvious that she was on the border between asleep and awake. By the time they arrived back at her apartment, she was off the border and completely asleep again. He parked, looked at her for about thirty seconds before making a decision and getting out. He lifted her out of the car easily, shut the passenger side door with his foot, and locked the doors behind him as he carried her upstairs bridal style to her apartment. Once inside, Mr. Wayne crushed two Tylenol and mixed the powder with water, then assisted her in swallowing the water. After leaving a note, he left.

Audrey woke up the next morning to a dull headache, and the thought of going to work only briefly entered her stream of consciousness before she dismissed it. She didn't want to have to face Mr. Wayne's pitying gaze after informing him of her attacks. Muttering about her sleeping schedule, she got up and exited the bedroom, then turned on the TV as she headed to the kitchen to get medicine and water. As she watched the TV, the faces of the men who attacked her and Jayden appeared alongside ten other men. She downed her pills, then slipped back into the main room to sit on the couch and listen.

"_These twelve men were found, unconscious, on the steps of the police station this morning. All twelve have at least two warrants out for their arrest. No one knows who brought the men there, or how they even got there. Some, however, have their suspicions._" the view turned into a police officer by the name of Gordon.

"_He may be a criminal now as well, but something tells me Batman is still fighting for us._" Audrey snorted.

"Twelve guys in one night, though? Something has him pissed off." she muttered, turning back into the kitchen, then suddenly noticing a hot pink sticky note on the counter. She pulled it off.

"_You will take today off as well._" was all it said. She laughed at the fact that she had anyway, then tacked the note to a cork board on the wall, where all her little notes went. She made herself a parfait, then sat down and watched a mindless cop drama for seven hours before her phone rang and someone knocked on the door, at the same time. Groaning, she got up and grabbed the phone, then answered the door.

"Hello?" she questioned to both. Jayden smiled at Audrey, who grinned back.

"_Your head?_" she attempted to withhold a laugh, letting Jayden slide past her into the apartment.

"How did you get my number?"

"_Is it wrong for me to be concerned?_"

"We're not friends," she reminded him, "considering you used me, yes, and getting my number is creepy." she threw a bag of popcorn at Jayden, who caught it, then stretched out her other hand for the bag of pretzels. Audrey rolled her eyes.

"_I didn't steal your number. Ms. White lent it to me._" Audrey turned on her heel and shot a heated glare at her friend, who smiled sheepishly.

"He's cute," Jayden mouthed, "And I think he's starting to think you're attractive." Audrey covered up the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Think I'm attractive? Jayden, he's a playboy. I'm not up to his standard, first of all, and I'm pretty sure he's just pretending." Audrey uncovered the mouthpiece.

"We're still not friends. I've got to go. Goodbye, Mr. Wayne."

"_Bruce_." he correct.

"Mr. Wayne." Audrey insisted, then hung up. She turned, and found Jayden looking at Mr. Wayne's note on her board.

"This is from Bruce?"

"Gross. You're on a first name basis with him?"

"We're friends." Jayden replied simply. Audrey cocked an eyebrow, and Jayden laughed.

"Jeez. Mrs. Suspiscious."

"Yes that's from _Mr. Wayne._" Audrey admitted.

"How cute."

"Shut up and put the DVDs in." the two girls settled on Audrey's couch and turned off the lights before commencing first Sleeping Beauty, then Mulan. As Audrey curled up in bed later that night, she reminded herself to go see her old friend and get some self defense training.


	3. Chapter 3

**It appears I've made some people mad... I swearz she gets better. I swearz on my cat. I think. xD**

**Anyway, it also appears that none of my scene change marks got transferred over when I imported these, so from now on there will be some!**

Audrey arrived in the building and smiled at the bald security man as she produced her I.D, causing him to laugh.

"Found your I.D., I see."

"Found my purse." she corrected, grinning. He handed it back after scanning it.

"Have a good day." Audrey stepped into the elevator and looked out the glass sides as she rode up to the top floor. The hustle and bustle of people below began to look like ant workers, but she was more disturbed by how clearly she could see her reflection in the glass. Attempting to focus through her reflection and continue people watching, she saw a hand rise from among the crowd and seemingly wave. After a long stare, she realized they were pointing at her. Audrey stepped away from that side of the elevator, then stepped out on her floor where she found two vanilla beans waiting. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Jayden, who shrugged, gold dangling earrings making high clinking noises as she did so.

"I bought one. No idea where the second one came from." Audrey smiled to herself, then put the second on in a minifridge under her desk, and slurped the first.

"So what all have I missed?" she questioned, kicking her chair over to Jayden's area, which was littered with papers upon papers, some piles several inches thick.

"Let's see... there have been four meetings since you left, and now it is mandatory for secretaries to accompany their bosses to meetings." Audrey snorted and Jayden let a laugh slip at Audrey's snort.

"What happened?"

"This poor sap. It was very sad to hear about from Mr. Fox. He was carrying too much for the first, second, and third meetings, and ended up dropping his laptop and spilling his coffee all over it three times. In the fourth meeting, he forced his secretary in and yelled at anyone who tried to make her leave." Audrey snorted again, then slurped her vanilla bean and set it down on the desktop before starting to sort Jayden's papers. Jayden shot her an appreciative smile.

"What would I do without you, babe?"

"You would be swimming in your paperwork." Audrey responded, watching Jayden sip off her drink. Rolling her eyes, she stuck a pile of papers in the divider section labeled _Forged Emails_.

"You two have a section devoted to that part of your jobs?" Mr. Fox questioned behind them, startling Audrey, who jumped and dropped the stack of papers she was holding. Fox chuckled behind her as she kicked her chair away and got down on the floor to pick up the papers. Fox knelt down beside her and helped her.

"Yes we do." Jayden responded for Audrey. Once all the papers had been collected, he handed them over to Audrey and stood up tall, dusting off his knees and hands.

"Let's go, Ms. White." Jayden stood up and took the vanilla bean with her.

"So not cool, Jayden." she called after her African friend. Jayden just laughed as she walked slightly behind Mr. Fox, holding his papers for the meeting. Audrey watched her slim, white clothed figure disappear into the elevator, then continued with restoring order to Jayden's desk, wondering briefly where Mr. Wayne was that he hadn't abducted her to the meeting.

Two hours later, Audrey got her answer as the elevator ding sounded across the office area, and her boss power walked straight toward her.

"Let's go." he pulled her up, and she grabbed her vanilla bean as he dragged her toward the elevator, trying not to laugh over the image of his power walking.

"Why are we in such a rush?"

"Because I was supposed to be at that meeting two hours ago, but I was out." the doors closed, and as the elevator rocketed upward, Audrey brushed back his hair that had started hanging in his face. He looked at her and she dropped her hands back to her sides.

"You looked like a slob." she took his coffee from him and let him fix his own hair. Once the elevator let them out, he was already halfway to the meeting room, forcing Audrey to almost jog to keep up with his much longer stride. They entered, and the room fell silent.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Wayne." she handed him his coffee after he sat down, then stepped back to the wall with the rest of the secretaries.

"I was taking care of an emergency in the medical division." he looked at the head of the division, who looked at him, looking either angry or upset, with his brows knit together and the corners of his lips turned down.

"What emergency?"

"There was a theft of a vital part to a new product they are putting the finishing touches on."

"What part of what product?" someone else pressed. Bruce looked at the man, who seemed to shrink in his chair.

"The Eye of the Diagnosis Scanner." there was a collective gasp around the elongated table, and Jayden caught Audrey's eye from across the room. Audrey gave an almost imperceptible shrug, and Jayden gave an equally small nod.

"Did you recover the part?" the medical director asked anxiously.

"Yes sir."

"Who took it?"

"An intern by the name of Jackson Hyde." the medical director cursed, and after a minute or two of quiet rumbling, Fox cleared his throat and restored the conversation to it's former topic; an impending deal with some huge car manufacturer. As surprising as it was, Wayne Enterprises did not yet own a car company. And they were soon to change that, hopefully, if they could iron out the wrinkles in this deal. Audrey had almost no idea why she was even here, even if it was mandatory. She didn't do a single thing for nearly two hours, until Mr. Wayne looked back at her. He gestured for her to step forward, and she cautiously did so. He then gestured for her to bend over, and her suspicion sky rocketed as she did so.

"I need you," Mr. Wayne paused for a moment, "to go get a sealed folder off my desk." Audrey nodded, then left, heart pounding in her ears as she escaped the room and rode up a few levels. Once inside his office, she took a moment to look around at how clean the room was. His dark wood desk was on the far side of the room, tucked up against the back wall, and other than a computer, the desk area was empty. Frowning, she crossed the room and looked around. Upon not finding a sealed folder anywhere, she picked up his phone and called Jayden. After three tones, her friend picked up.

"_Hello?_"

"I need you, now."

"_What's going on?_"

"I'm supposed to be finding this folder for Mr. Wayne, and I can't find it for the life of me. You have the magical finding skills, come find it!" Jayden laughed on the other line.

"_On the way._" Jayden hung up, and Audrey cursed, then opened a lap drawer. Minutes later, the door opened again.

"Where have you looked?"

"His entire desk area."

"What is it exactly?"

"Just a sealed folder." the two tore the room apart, then put it back together, and still had no sealed folder.

"Damn. I guess we go back without it." Jayden shrugged, and Audrey fumed silently as they trekked to the elevator. Once back on the correct floor, they started for the meeting room and Audrey slipped inside first, only for the door to be slammed behind her. Her eyes went wide and she looked at the man adjacent to her, wearing bluejeans and a sweatshirt. He held a gun to her temple, and gestured for her to get down on the floor.

"Jayden, go back down to the ground floor!" the shout bounced around the inside of the room, seemingly echoing, and Audrey prayed that Jayden heard her.

"Audrey, Jessica's been shot." Jayden called.

"Take her down to the main floor and call an ambulance." Audrey received a quick kick to the ribs, and winced. From the ground, she watched the man until she caught a glimpse of his gun and recognized it immediately from when she'd been researching a gun to buy. It looked like a Ruger, nine millimeter semi automatic. Just seeing the gun made Audrey start planning in her head. She wasn't strong, she wasn't important, but she was small and quick, and rather intelligent in some struggled to remember just how many bullets were in the magazine of that gun.

"You know what we want, just give it to us and you all can leave with your lives." the man sounded British or something, briefly distracting Audrey from her intense memory recall. Then, like the crack of a whip, she remembered. Audrey kicked the door handle, then curled up into a ball as shots were fired. As her heartbeat roared in her ears, she counted the holes in the door and wall. Thirty six rounds for three guns, and they'd just used six. Her head began to throb where her concussion was, and she covered the area with her hand.

"Is there someone out there still?" One of the people peeked through a window.

"Must be hiding." the man by the window replied.

"Go out and look." the man opened the door, and Audrey ninja rolled out behind him, having taken off her shoes prior to her escape. Once outside the room, she crouched, stone still until the man was facing away and on the other side of the room before moving quickly to the secretary's desk and hiding underneath. The man began to move back to the door, and she grabbed the heaviest object on the desk, then launched at him and struck him repeatedly at the base of his head until he collapsed beneath her.

"What the bloody hell was that?" someone inside the room questioned, "Max?"

"That was exhilarating." Audrey called as she slunk back to the desk, the man's gun in her hand.

"How did you get out of here?"

"You're boy was fairly easy to take out, considering you guys are professionals." she panted quietly, finger fit snuggly against the trigger. Honestly, she had no idea how to shoot a gun, and hoped she wouldn't have to.

"Audrey." a crack sounded inside, and Audrey winced.

"I'm so not suited for heroism." she muttered before standing up straight and trying to remember where Mr. Wayne was sitting. Once she found the area she figured he was, she aimed up and a little to the right before firing off a two rounds. She stumbled back with the recoil and her shoulders screamed at her. However, she ducked back down under the desk as they predictably fired back.

"Audrey." Mr. Wayne sounded a little more pained, and a little more angry this time. Audrey held the gun facing up, close to her chest, then peeked out and counted bullet holes. They must each be down to six rounds. Perhaps she could throw the paperweight through the window and try and hit somebody too.

"We're wasting ammo." the obvious leader pointed out.

"Tick tock, Mr. Wayne." Audrey grabbed a punch of sticky notes and a rubber band from the desk top, then began making hornets. She peered out and looked through the broken window, then fired.

"Fuck! What was that?!"

"Damn woman." a shot rang out, and she was a tad too slow this time to move, as it grazed her neck. She gasped, then pulled back in.

"Audrey!" another crack, and she winced again.

"What did she hit you with, mate?"

"A bloody hornet. You remember these paper buggers?" while they discussed her weapon of choice, she tried not to hyper ventilate. The pain didn't even register, but she knew she was bleeding.

"What a good time to go into shock." she murmured, then took aim again, and nailed another in the eye. He cried out, and then there was a multitude of shots fired her way. She just stayed hidden behind the desk, trying to silence her breathing as her blood flowed freely.

"Mate, I actually think I hit her after she hit me." Audrey loaded another hornet and launched it again.

"Ew fuck! That one is bloody!" Audrey looked down at her fingers, surprised to find a crimson hue on them. She swung her gaze back out to the rest of the room.

"I'm going to kill her. This is ridiculous."

"_Audrey_!" Audrey wasn't quiet sure how much angrier or desperate Mr. Wayne's voice could get, but she knew she wasn't going to leave the people in there. The door clicked open, and she hid under the desk, waiting for him to get into an open space.

"'ere, lass." she waddled out from her hiding space, then tackled him to the ground and yanked his gun out of his grip. After she stopped his squirming, she nailed him hard in the back of the neck, knocking him out.

"John?" after a tense second, she stood up, fired a single shot with her new gun, and dropped back down.

"She's a really bad shot, Mr. Wayne."

"Do I look like someone with gun training?" Audrey called, trying to ignore the glass cutting into her knees, and the pain of her injury that making it hard to focus. Speaking sounded like it was her only way to make sure she didn't zone out.

"Audrey." Mr. Wayne's voice had lost the anger to it now, almost like he was pleading with her.

"Is she your lover, Mr. Wayne?"

"A friend."

"We're not friends." she called. This garnered her a laugh from the insane man inside.

"Curious. However, we're wasting time."

"Agreed." Audrey stood up while the man was looking down at Mr. Wayne, and took her time aiming, then fired just as he looked up and caught sight of her. One concussive sound rung out, but a second shot broke through Audrey's hip in entry and exit. She cried out and leaned against the desk as the pain quickly faded into numbness. The door was opened, and people flooded out. The executives fled rather quickly for a group of older men, followed by their secretaries, who were then followed by Mr. Wayne. He looked Audrey over from the doorway, then moved toward her. Audrey smiled weakly, then heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. Working fast, she shoved Mr. Wayne down onto the floor and dropped down on him as the bullet whizzed across the room and broke through the large window that looked down onto the lobby area of the tower. The glass shattered, and Audrey prayed no one got hurt.

"Stay here."

"I'm not going _anywhere_." she muttered, letting Mr. Wayne get up. She dropped her head against the desk as the pain from her neck began to come back. Mr. Wayne headed back in the room, then stepped on the still conscious man's wrist, and kicked the gun out of reach. He was back in seconds.

"Where did he hit you?" she shook her head.

"I'll be fine. Let's just head downstairs and let the medics look." he gave her a glare that could kill a man, and she paled sightly.

"Where?"

"My neck and my hip."

"I'm going to collect the guns, then we will head down." she nodded, and he disappeared into the room again, coming back with the one, then grabbed the one behind the desk and the one in Audrey's hand. She followed him to the elevator, then leaned back against the window. The ride down was silent right up until the elevator stopped.

"Why do you keep telling people we're friends?"

"I'm trying to see how long you'll keep denying it." he helped her across the lobby to the policemen by the doors. They stopped them before the two could make it outside.

"What's the status up there?"

"Two are unconscious and one's been shot." Audrey relayed. Mr. Wayne pushed her out the front doors to one of three ambulances sitting on the front street. Her vision started spawning white suns, and she stumbled. When she stumbled again, he lifted her up easily and carried her the rest of the way.

"Sir, you need to get in line." the EMT commented, assessing one of the executives.

"She's been shot. " the EMT looked up, then cursed. He helped her into the back of the ambulance, and Audrey locked gazes with Mr. Wayne.

"Don't let Jayden kill anyone."

"I need you to lay down miss."

"Don't push me, damn it!" the doors slammed shut, and the ambulance took off.

"Mr. Wayne!" he turned and faced Jayden as she approached, usually sleek hair a wild mess.

"Audrey?" he glanced at the ambulance driving away.

"Why did you let her get shot?!"

"It's Audrey Habicht." he reminded her. Jayden frowned.

"She better be fine."

Audrey was barricaded in her apartment since the media got wind of what occurred which lead to reporters parked outside the building like hyenas, waiting for her to emerge. So poor, battered Audrey was cooped up inside, running low on food.

A knock came on the door, and irritation caused her eyes to narrow as she shouted, "I'm not giving anyone a god damned interview!" laughter echoed off the walls outside, and she scowled, then put down her can of tomato soup, then opened the door.

"Wh- Mr. Wayne?" she questioned, confused.

"I'm here to sneak you out." she smirked.

"Good luck. I have to eat first."

"We've got some time." he commented, stepping past her and into the apartment. She shrugged and closed the door, then went back to making her soup. While Mr. Wayne was wearing jeans, a green tee shirt, and a black hooded sweatshirt, she wore running shorts and an very large tee shirt.

"You look classy compared to me. Is that your definition of casual?" she questioned. He looked down at himself.

"This is casual." she snorted, then put the soup in the microwave. Once it was running, she moved to a window to check if she needed to put on real clothes.

"It's raining?"

"I could have told you that."

"I don't trust you." she responded.

"Why not?"

"Because you sent me to get a folder that didn't exist, happening to get me out of the room for the thugs to break in." they eyed eachother for a few minutes, and then he gave up.

"I knew they were coming."

"And you tell your secretary to get out." she responded, touching the bandage on her neck lightly.

"You and Ms. White would be great bargaining chips. I didn't account for you trying to be a hero."

"I didn't plan on it either." she murmured, then paused briefly. _Oh my God, my employer is sitting in my ratty apartment with me while I'm dressed like it's Saturday. Oh my _God_._

"You're insane." Audrey continued, "for worrying about us more than yourself, Mr. Wayne."

"To you. And Bruce." she shook her head, then chugged the steaming hot soup. Once finished, she filled the bowl with water in the sink, then pulled a hairband out of her hair, letting the loose curls bounce free.

"One more moment." she skipped across the apartment to her room and grabbed a warm sweatshirt from inside, then pulled the hood up.

"Let's go." she took his elbow, then grabbed the keys and locked the door behind her. He pulled his own hood up as the near the entrance several floors down.

"Can you run?" she glanced down at her flip flopped feet.

"We'll find out." she muttered. He pushed the door open, and she ran, laughing, around the group of reporters.

"Is that her?"

"No, she can't run. It'll disturb her stitches." someone else commented. She just continued laughing as she pelted around them and into his car in the alley. Bruce joined her momentarily.

"You're fast, for a cripple." she grinned.

"It's been a week. I'm starting to heal." she responding, pulling her hood down.

"No no, keep it up." he reached behind her and pulled it back over her head, then pulled out of his makeshift parking spot and took off down the street, arm wresting around her shoulders.

"Where are we even going?"

"Are you going to hit me or lapse into an angry silence?" she narrowed her eyes, but said nothing, waiting for him to continue and wondering about the sudden informal speech.

"The police station, then a grocery store." she sighed, then leaned her head against the window, wanting this whole mess to be done and over with.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm going to be one of those people, yes. You should _all _go look up the song Haunted by A Liar's Eyes because it's bloody amazing and it's frankly scary to think a kid I used to play in the mud with is the singer of that band. Sooo, yeah. **

**Thank you to all my lovely reviews, even though I don't ask for reviews. I feel like they're more genuine when they are freely given. 3**

"_Audrey R. Habicht is a name we all know by now. A hero in a time of need, saving all of the top executives at Wayne Enterprises, at the risk of her own life. However, some interesting information has come to light about this mysterious woman. While we have not been able to get a hold of Ms. Habicht herself, we have a collective call from several people at a local hospital that she actually was the one responsible for bringing in Arling Henderson three weeks ago, the man that has been terrorizing downtown streets for the past few months._" Audrey turned red and grabbed for the remote, which Bruce snatched first, after they'd returned from the police station and grocery shopping.

"Your first attack was Arling Henderson?" he questioned. She looked at a spot on the floor, ignoring him and trying to figure out how to get out of this situation.

"Audrey." he gripped her bicep, and Audrey looked at him, while trying to ignore the faint tingling heat caused by his hand, and failing miserably.

"Yeah." he watched, waiting for her to explain without prompting. She let out a breath, letting her eyes travel back to the floor.

"It wasn't really that big. I beat him up and took him to the hospital." the lie was so huge that Audrey had a problem not laughing.

"Why do you even try to lie?" she grit her teeth, and his grip on her arm tightened.

"I'm not lying about anything." _Just omitting facts. Like how I'm a huge wimp and can't fight, so Batman actually saved my life. _He just continued watching her. Watching and waiting for her to break. After five minutes, however, he just gave up and released her.

"Are you sick? You're very warm." she laughed, lie temporarily forgotten.

"I don't know. It would be my luck if I was sick." and then she was in the air.

"Holy fuggets!" she tightened her grip around his neck in case he dropped her. He just laughed.

"I'm not going to drop you. If you remembered the last time, you'd know."

"Last time?! When the hell else have you carried me around?!" she screeched as he carried her into her bedroom.

"You fell asleep in my car last week." he set her down and she sat up.

"Remember Mr. Wayne, we're not friends."

"We'll see about that. You're coming into work tomorrow." and then Mr. Wayne left. Audrey placed a hand over her heart, feeling the erratic beat it was pounding out. _Oh wouldn't Jayden have a field day with this information._

* * *

After the half an hour journey to her desk from the ground floor of the building, Audrey found _three _vanilla beans on her desk. She scowled at them, and gave one to Jayden, then stuck the other in her fridge and slurped the remaining.

"Where is he? I'm going to kill him." Jayden laughed.

"Don't get so worked up, Audrey. One is me, one is Bruce, and perhaps the staffers have seen what's going on back here?" Audrey glared at Jayden.

"And what exactly is going on back here?"

"You are obviously falling for the spoilt, arrogant, narcissistic asshole." Jayden teased. Audrey just looked at her for a moment, not sure what to say.

"Don't lie to yourself. We're not even friends." Audrey retorted, then kicked her chair over to Jayden's desk.

"I never got to finish reorganizing this, and now it's multiplied like Tribbles." she muttered, beginning the long process of cleaning up the desk.

"So everything has been really chaotic recently. We're having even more trouble with reporters because of you-" Audrey giggled at Jayden's accusation, "- and not to mention that you have like a hundred emails and presents exploding on your desk. Damn, I really need to take some lessons from you." Audrey tried to muffle her laughter as Jayden furiously typed something.

"What are doing?" she questioned, slipping the fabricated emails into their rightful place.

"There this guy down in the tech department-"

"Aw that's sweet!" Jayden blushed.

"We've been talking and stuff, and he's taking me out tonight." Audrey squealed, then hugged her friend. Seconds later, a hand gripped the back of her roller chair and dragged her back to her own desk.

"You have your own desk, use it." she looked at the blonde man standing before her, then shock crossed her face as she realized how expensive his suit was. He was important. And attractive, not that Audrey would ever admit that out loud.

"Sorry sir, but I am not familiar with your name."

"As you shouldn't be. Don't you have your own work to be doing?" she flushed.

"Yes sir." he turned and walked away again, and she snatched her vanilla bean off Jayden's desk, then logged onto her computer and checked her email. Several minutes later, someone approached, and both secretaries sat up straight, painfully so for Audrey, and practiced proper typing technique.

"What's going on here?" both of them looked up at Fox and Mr. Wayne, and let out a breath of relief.

"There's this guy- He's coming!" she hissed to Jayden, then returned to typing an email.

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. Fox."

"Mr. Devereux." both men greeted.

"I need to speak to you both about the etiquette of the employees in this company." Mr. Wayne held up his hand for them to step into his office, and met Audrey's gaze briefly before heading inside.

"Can he fix this?" Jayden whispered.

"I don't even know who this man is. Perhaps he got hired in the wake of the hostage situation?" Audrey whispered back, then sent off the email she'd been writing.

"Your secretaries chatting may have been what led to the men being able to get inside!" both girls froze.

"You need to calm down sir."

"I'm not going to calm down! This mindless, friendly atmosphere is how confidential things get leaked and injuries are obtained." there was a brief pause, no long than a second long.

"I'm going to have to ask you to fire Ms. Habicht, Mr. Wayne." pain flashed through her system, and Audrey let out a little gasp. Jayden just looked at her, and Audrey touched a hand to the bandage on her neck. It came away slightly bloody.

"Come here." Jayden mouthed. Audrey kicked over, and Jayden pulled out her first aid kit of death, along with a bath towel, then slowly pried the bandage off and mopped up the blood.

"Slow your breathing, calm yourself down." Jayden whispered. Audrey closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to stay still for Jayden to assess what was bleeding and respond accordingly. A door opened, and then Audrey heard the blonde walked out.

"This is what I'm talking about. I already reprimanded these two today and they're back at it."

"Sir-" Audrey began.

"There are no excuses for fraternizing." someone bypassed the man and crouched down beside Audrey.

"What happened?" Mr. Wayne questioned, eyeing the blood.

"We could hear him shouting." Audrey explained simply. Jayden flicked her to shut her up.

"Stop talking. She got anxious and the increased heart rate reopened some delicately closed vessels in her neck." Jayden pressed the towel against her neck, and Audrey winced.

"You shouldn't come to work with such injuries then. What if you had gotten blood on the carpet?" Audrey scoffed, then winced.

"I've already been out a week. What was I supposed to do, quit?"

"Yes." Audrey stuck her foot out and dug her heel into Mr. Wayne's foot before he could get far and yanked him back down beside her.

"Who is this guy?" she whispered.

"We hired him to find the breach in security." he responded.

"Then he has a reason to be suspicious of me."

"Why?"

"Why did I leave the room just before they got there? Why was I able to slip out of the room? Why was I able to knock out two grown may who weighed twice as much as me?"

"So he can be suspicious because your courageous." she bit her lip.

"It's not being courageous. I had a little too much luck."

"Mr. Devereux, we hired you to locate the breach in security and the leak of information, not to place suspicion on the woman who saved us." Mr. Wayne stood up.

"You don't find it suspicious that she just happened to be a good shot? That she just happened to be able to do what she did?" Mr. Wayne shook his head.

"Mr. Habicht is an extremely lucky person, I can give you that. However, people placed in that kind of situation do one of two things usually. They cower in fear, or they try to save lives."

"Besides, haven't you seen the news? She's a regular superhero now, fighting thugs on the streets." Fox commented. Devereux scowled, then stalked away. All attention returned to her.

"How bad does it hurt?"

"Not as bad as it could." she avoided. Jayden accepted this answer and pulled the towel off.

"The stitches are still in, so I'm just going to put a new bandage on it, okay?" she carefully laid the bandage against the stitches, then taped the edges down.

"So are you going to fire me?" she teased Mr. Wayne. He smacked the top of her head uncharacteristically, and she grinned as Jayden pushed her back over to her own desk.

"I like your fantastical bruise." Jayden commented, cleaning up the bloody supplies.

"Yeah I do too." they both laughed, and Audrey slurped her drink.

"Any meetings today?" she questioned, eyeing Mr. Wayne and completely jumping topics.

"No. Not until we find the leak."

"Oh no!" she mock gasped, "What are you going to do all day?"

"The other aspects of my job. Perhaps take you with me."

"I need all the time I can get. I have to go distribute the mail and answer your phone."

"You answer my phone?"

"I have to either refer people to you, or tell them off." he nodded, understanding.

"If it's just an department head, I write down their reports and email them to you." he frowned.

"So you actually do something productive around here?"

"Well, yeah." he frowned for a moment longer, then his face went passive again.

"I just assumed you were an assistant to Jayden most of the time." and with that eloquent finish, he walked away from the group.

* * *

Despite all of Jayden's attempts, Audrey still had to stay until the normal nine o'clock to finish taking calls for him and answering emails, then finish ordering Jayden's desk. She exited the building and made her way to the train station, apprehensive about her first night ride in three weeks. She got on the train, and the same five people were on. All five stared at her, and she sat in her normal spot at the front of the car. _This is the only bit of normalcy I can get. _She thought bitterly, then added, _and I spoke too soon._ As she watched, a man ran from the car in front of hers toward hers, a dark shadow following him. He had a rifle strapped to his back, and a terrified look on his face. She debated just letting him pass, but knew that wouldn't sit well with her moral side. He crossed the doors into her car, and her foot flew out, nailing him in the knees and sending him to the ground. The shadow landed just in front of her, and she rolled her eyes as Batman gripped the man by the collar of his shirt.

"Who hired you?" he growled. The man squeaked. Two steps later, and Batman slammed the man against the metal wall.

"Who hired you?" he questioned again. The man squeaked again, and Audrey stood up, taking her shoes off.

"I may adore you," she commented to Batman, "but you're terrifying the drunkards and druggies." he glanced behind him at the five, who were all cowering at the back now, visibly shaking. He took a step back, and Audrey filled in his space, pressing the man back into the wall and whispering in his ear, describing all the horrendous torture methods she could think of.

"The Joker!" he wailed. She smiled.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" she questioned, then stepped out of the way. Batman's fist flew out and nailed the man in the face, knocking him out. Then he faced Audrey, and she grinned at the angry set of his mouth.

"Let's go."

"Hold on hold on!" she grabbed her purse, then followed him out the doors at the next stop. He walked into the nearest alley, and pulled the fire escape down. She frowned slightly, but let him lift her up until she could grab on. She climbed up the ladder, then up the stairs, followed closely by Batman. Once on the top of the building she stopped to take her shoes off.

"You know, we've never talked except for when you yelled at me last time. Hi, I'm Audrey Habicht, nice to meet you." she commented, massaging her foot.

"You're supposed to be staying out of trouble."

"I helped you!" she cried defensively, "I kicked his knees out. Seriously, how is that dangerous to me?" she placed her hands on her hips, and waited for a response. The Batman seemed to seriously be thinking this over seriously for a few moments.

"Go home. The last thing the city needs is for you to get killed." she scoffed at him, and he jumped off the building. Audrey looked around, pondering how the hell she was supposed to get home, exactly.

* * *

Audrey was about ready to call it quits the next day, a Thursday, when she found _five _vanilla beans. Of course, she had arrived at some obscene hour. Early enough that the lobby was empty of traffic, along with the rest of the office.

"Who brings me vanilla beans before anyone else is even here? God. Mr. Wyane isn't here, Jayden isn't here, which means there will be seven later." she groaned and stuck them all in the fridge, then double checked the time on her computer.

"Seven a.m." she groaned and leaned back in her chair. After yesterday's adventure with Batman, she had practically passed out, then woken up at five thirty this morning, unable to fall asleep. Footsteps echoed out of the elevator, and her eyes snapped open. She dropped down onto the floor and scooted under her desk, bunching up her dress pants as she went, unsure exactly why she didn't want to be found here. Two minutes later, someone sat in her chair and rolled over to her computer. Expensive dress pants, perhaps Armani, expensive shoes. Someone with money to spare. The person chuckled to themselves.

"Oh, there is another meeting? Today? I better warn J." a dial tone was the next thing she heard. Clenching her right hand into a fist, she struck out and nailed him in the groin. He groaned and fell sideways off the chair. She climbed out and stood up, kicking the phone away from him.

"Mr. Devereux." she greeted. He frowned at her.

"Why are you here?"

"Couldn't sleep. Why are you on my email?" she countered. He didn't respond, seeming to sense that he had very much been caught red handed.

"You're the leak, aren't you? You've been working in another department." she stepped on him, careful to stay on her toes, and he groaned under her weight. She stepped off, then turned and kicked him in the gut. He doubled over, and she crossed to Jayden's desk, then got out the gauze, and bound his wrists and ankles, then made a gag.

"You're gonna sit right there. Wait." she crouched down in front of him and pulled down the gag.

"J?"

"I'm not saying anything." she brought her arm back like she was going to punch him.

"Joker!" he spat out. She rolled her eyes, then pulled the gag back up and sat in her seat, watching him. _The Joker. I thought he was dealt with. _She shook her head. _Obviously not, if he's back. Hired a hitman. Brought Devereux into the scheme, trying to get something off of Mr. Wayne. What is his plan?_ She got out a pad of paper, then dialed Mr. Wyane while watching Devereux, something she hadn't done ever, as far as she could recollect.

"_Bruce Wayne_." he answered, voice gruff.

"I've got a question." there was a shuffling noise.

"_What phone are you using?_"

"The one at my desk. Back to my question. Last week. What did those men want out of you?" a brief silence followed, and she tapped her foot.

"_They wanted the location of a warehouse._"

"Thanks!"

"_Don't hang up on me. Why are you asking?_"

"Um, just thinking."

"_Liar._" she frowned.

"You'll see when you get here. Oh, don't by me a vanilla bean." he laughed lightly, and Audrey hung up, pulled out a pad of paper, and wrote down _Warehouse + Hitman_ on it, then pushed it to the corner of her desk. Twenty minutes later, the elevator dinged, and a breathless voice called, "Audrey?!"

"I'm at my desk." she responded, still watching Devereux. Bruce ran across the room and stopped at the area between her desk and Jayden's.

"What happened?"

"I found him reading my emails."

"So you bound him?"

"Yeah, well, he was about to report to Joker about the meeting." Bruce looked at her, then Devereux.

"He told you this?"

"Yeah." he sighed and called the police. Once finished, he faced Audrey.

"Stay out of this." he commanded.

"Why should I?" she sniffed like he'd offended her. He gave her a pointed look, and she held up her hands in surrender.

"It'll cost you your life if you get involved."

**An additional note; I just realized I'm a huge liar because in the last chapter I promised you scene breaks and they didn't work even after I went and fixed everything. So I made sure I did them in the Doc Manager this time. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Authoritai.**

**Anyway, remember people, every Saturday I will update. Perhaps later, but never earlier. Sorry, but I'm holding myself to a standard and if I update more rapidly my edited chapters are going to run out too soon. ;3 Enjoy, doves.**

Audrey didn't take authority well. From either Batman, or her boss. And so there she was on a Friday night, wandering the streets after eight hours of training from an old friend. Snow was falling gently now, and she was freezing in her black sweatshirt and skinny jeans. Her boots smeared the light covering of snow as she walked, creating a kind of trail at one in the morning, wandering the Warehouses. There was an entire section of the city devoted to the large companies' warehouses, and so she trekked, cross referencing the ones on a list she'd printed out at work, and the ones with fresh activity. So far, of the twenty six, fourteen hadn't been touched in at least three days, with no mud or snow tracks. Audrey slugged onto the next building, two blocks down. At first glance, the place hadn't been disturbed in a long time. She took another two steps before a light shining through a window caught her gaze.

"Not so abandoned, huh? Lucky number fifteen." she trudged up to the door and jiggled it quietly, finding it locked.

"If nothing, Wayne Enterprises certainly has security." Audrey muttered before finding a hatch door. She kicked at the chain lightly, and it flew off the handles, not actually locked onto the doors. Her gloved hands gripped the handles, and she opened the hatch doors, then closed them behind her. Dust drifted down into the dark walkway, the particles glowing in the street light that filtered through the gaps in the doors above her head. She turned and walked down the pitch black stairs and followed the passageway, hand guiding her on the wall. After some ten minutes, Audrey guessed she was no longer under warehouse fifteen. Then the sound of something slowly came into range. She walked faster, the steady thrum of a machine becoming definable. Then voices.

"-for shipment yet, sir."

"It needs to be ready. If not for shipment, movement. Mr. Wayne wants these things moved asap out of the city."

"Why?"

"How the hell would I know?"

"I'm definitely in the right place." she muttered, pushing forward still. The chill in her bones felt like it had always been there at this point, freezing straight through her. Footsteps sounded behind her, and panic shot through her system. Audrey groped along the way for a branch off the main tunnel, only to find a hand. It yanked her forward into the empty area, and she stifled a gasp as her face met with a cold material. The two of them remained silent until footfalls passed them, and there had been silence for nearly four minutes.

"Go home, Audrey."

"Ahem. I figured this out first, asshole. This is my find."

"What's your plan?" she turned red as she remember her original plan, and realized he was going to think her moronic.

"Take out whoever is not supposed to be here." she responded.

"Keep up." and he was walking away. She followed quickly, disturbed by his long stride.

"Are you wearing heels or something? You have a huge stride." the Batman didn't respond, and Audrey rolled her eyes, returning to running her hands along the wall. Shouts sounded above after another minute, and his pace kicked up a notch. She cursed under her breath and started jogging after him. Light shone up ahead, and she started running, passing him and taking the railing to launch herself up the stairs.

Audrey feet landed on the stones on the floor above, and she was met by the bright glare of flames. Through the wall of gasoline fueled fire, she could see a group of workers. Her mind worked quickly, and she started for the flames. Before she got far, hands gripped her waist and yanked her backward.

"Are you trying to get killed?"

"No, I'm going to save them." she shoved him off, then jumped through the wall, feeling tongues of heat lick at her through her jeans. She landed on the other side, then stumbled.

"Hey!" she shouted. The panicking workers faced her, fear and anxiety obvious on their weathered faces.

"Who are you?"

"Does it really matter right now? Just come and jumped through the bit over here." a few brave workers did as she commanded, and you could hear them landing with an audible thunk.

"Oh thank god." one of them breathed.

"C'mon!" they surged past her and out, and she turned to follow, only to get yanked back by the hood of her sweatshirt.

"Ah ah. I can't let you leave." she gasped as she stumbled backward. Fingers twirled her hair as the person walked around, then stopped in front of her. Her eyes went wide at the long green hair, and painted on red smile. With the fire casting odd shadows, he looked even creepier than he meant to.

"You're the brave little girl who has been thwarting my plans, yes?" her eyes just followed him as he walked around her again.

"You're cute. Not quite thin enough for my tastes." despite the danger she knew she was in, she couldn't help being offended. Her hands landed on her hips, one resting protectively over her stitches.

"Excuse me? Not _thin _enough? I'm not going to become anorexic just so some shallow man can be happier with my figure. I am at a healthy weight." Joker laughed, loud and clear.

"You really are feisty. It's too bad I'm going to have to kill you, then take what you came to protect." she swung out, and he ducked under her fist. While he stood back up and took a step back, she dove another direction through the flames. Joker laughed again.

"Where you going to go?" she glanced around, trying to locate the item he couldn't know. He was waiting for her to show it to him, and she was desperate to find it before she did.

"Habicht!"

"Deal with Joker!" she patted out a flame on her leg, then jumped through another line of flames, reigniting her leg. Moisture began to accumulate beneath her skin, and she wondered if sweat would only make this situation worse.

"Damn it." she stripped her sweatshirt and tied it around her waist as she began sweating. Then she spotted the large, two foot long device she was looking for. It glinted, reflecting the flames. She grabbed it and tucked it against her chest.

"Thank you." upon hearing Joker's voice in her ear, she lashed out at him, nailing him in the face with her nails, and drawing blood. She smothered the flame on her leg again, then jumped through a wall, cradling the metal device.

"That's mine now~" Joker sang behind her. She jumped another wall, the heat biting her skin.

"Jesus it's hot." she coughed as the smoke began filling her lungs. She jumped another wall, then landed wrong and came down on her knees. Getting up, she crossed one more wall before the smoke became too much and she dropped to the ground, coughing hard.

"Habicht!" the voice calling her was a mixture between the Batman's and Mr. Wayne's so she wasn't quite sure if she was hallucinating or not. She figured she was going to die anyways, so what did it really matter?

"Get the hell out of here!" she shouted, then resumed coughing.

_Asthma – The reason fire fighters around the world die prematurely._

* * *

Audrey woke up, but before she could open her eyes, she received a dose of terror unlike any she had ever experienced. Promptly, she rolled on her side and started coughing hard, her throat raw, heart pounding and tears welling up in her eyes.

"Deep breaths, ma'am." an older voice suggested. She attempted to do as advised, and after a few minutes, her need to cough disappeared.

"Thank you." she sat up, but the man was gone. She shook her head.

"Jesus I'm going crazy. Hello?" she called. Her voice bounced back at her off of cave walls, and she frowned, looking around. The cave walls and floor were black, but she could hear the distant rumble of a waterfall, and perhaps shrieking bats. Her eyes widened. _Bat cave._

"You're awake?" her head swiveled around to face Batman as he melted out of the shadows.

"Why the hell am I in your lair? That's kind of creepy, sir." the corner of his lips twitched.

"I couldn't take you to a hospital with that." he gestured at the metal tube in her arms still. She clutched at it tighter.

"Good point. Thank you." she slid her legs off the metal table she was on, and dropped onto the ground. Her boots made an ugly noise, and she picked one foot up, looking at the sole, then groaned.

"Great. Now I have to trash my winter boots." the soles were melted into all kinds of odd swirls, no longer flat. He just looked at her for a moment.

"Once we get in the vehicle, I'm going to have blind fold you."

"I get it. Secret lair being revealed by an idiot normal person isn't good." she followed him to the vehicle and slid into her side, where he carefully tied a black cloth over her eyes.

"Was that worth risking your life to protect?" he questioned as he drove. Audrey ran her hands over the smooth metal, then smiled slightly.

"Yeah. Wayne Enterprises made it. If Joker wants it, then it was worth my life." she responded.

* * *

"_A disastrous fire broke out at one of Wayne Enterprises' many warehouses yesterday, and workers were trapped inside. All got out safely, and there is only one missing item. However, can you guess who helped the workers out? You're right. Ms. Audrey Habicht to the rescue. We're not sure if she's somehow causing all of these incidents, but Ms. Habicht is proving to be a valuable asset to Mr. Wayne as she continually puts her life in danger for the company._" Audrey hit the power button, and the TV blinked off. She sighed and put her head down on the counter.

"I need to make up a superhero for myself so my name doesn't get me killed." and in fact, she was expecting her phone to ring any minute with Mr. Wayne or Jayden. She stuffed a gummy worm in her mouth, then looked at the device when it started ringing. She grabbed it, then took a deep breath before putting it to her ear.

"_Audrey._"

"How come you can't let Jayden call me first for once?"

"_I told you not to get involved._"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to let the Joker get what he wanted."

"_Are you okay?_"

"Mild burn on my leg. Otherwise, fine."

"_You sound hoarse._"

"Sorry. Smoke inhalation will do that to you."

"_Will you be fine by Monday?_" the phone beeped, indicating a waiting call.

"Probably. Look, I've got a call waiting, and if it's Jayden she's just going to get more mad, so bye?" a chuckle came over the line clearly.

"_Goodbye._" she switched calls.

"_Girl, if you don't let me inside that apartment of yours, there will be dead bodies._"

"That might be an entertaining scenario." Audrey teased, "Perhaps we can call our friendly neighbor Bat to help us dispose of the bodies. Well, that or he'll kick your ass."

"_I swear to God, if you have some way that you contact him and you rat me out, I'll cut out your spleen and strangle you with it._"

"What if he monitors our phone calls?" Audrey pointed out. Jayden fell silent for a few moments.

"_We're not important enough to keep an eye on._" Audrey shook her head.

"You don't know that? I mean, what if the Batman watches TV and thinks that I'm an evil villain now?"

"_Interesting point you have there. Why would he think you a villain?_"

"Well, like Mr. Devereux suspected, I'm obviously not normal if I can handle a hostage situation and get everyone out. Why was I in the warehouse fire last night? Did I take the missing object? Or maybe he thinks you're putting me up to all of this stuff." _Except for the fact that he was with me last night, and he saw me take the object._

"_Or maybe you're trying to frame me._" Jayden threw out there. Audrey considered this for a few moments.

"Unlikely. A profiler wouldn't peg me as a manipulative person, just strong willed." her front door swung open and Audrey dropped her phone on the floor as she saw who stepped inside. One could hear the back of the phone cracking, and the battery pack falling out, effectively ending the call.

"In a town like Gotham, people should really lock their doors." Audrey eyed Joker, unsure of what exactly to do. He shut the door behind himself and looked at the phone pieces on the ground.

"That's a pity. I didn't want to cause any trouble." she knelt down, keeping her eyes on the psychopath in her home and grabbed the pieces, then stood back up.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see where you live. Have a meal with you. Get to know you better." Audrey backed into the kitchen.

"If I feed you anything, there will be rat poison in it."

"It's not safe to have that stuff near your food, you know." she just continued watching him as he moved from near the door toward her.

"No welcome for me?"

"Get out."

"See, but you're all alone here. Batman's not right through a wall of flames, and you just broke your phone. I can talk to you now."

"No, you can kill me now." she corrected. Joker pondered this, and Audrey slipped a butcher's knife out of the holder thing behind her, the movement practically invisible to Joker.

"Why are you wearing so little? Winter is upon us." she glanced down at her shorts and tee shirt.

"It's warm in here for a reason."Audrey shifted the knife behind her back into her dominant hand as Joker drew every nearer.

"It's a little too warm, actually," he pulled on the collar of his green dress shirt, "So, what do you do in your free time, Audrey?"

"I watch movies with my best friend."

"Oh, you have a friend?" she blinked slowly.

"Yes, I do, surprisingly. I know that's unusual, but I've never been very normal." Audrey shrugged like there wasn't a psychotic serial killer in her living room, and that she wasn't planning on stabbing him if he got near her. Joker leaned against the counter across from her, twiddling his thumbs in front.

"I never had very many friends. They either left me or ended up dying. I'm not really sure why, but it always made me feel very sad. Was I not good enough for anybody? Tell me, am I not good enough for you? For Gotham?"

"Oh you're definitely good enough for Gotham, and me too." she lied. Joker laughed, a high pitched whiny sound that made Audrey want to cover her ears to shut him up.

"I don't think Gotham believes that, and I know you don't. All of you citizens are in love with this fantastical creature you call Batman and think he's some kind of saviour. Someday you'll be shown the truth." the pitch of Joker's voice flew all over the spectrum, from high to low, his hands moving quickly like he was seizing with the words, "in love with".

"What's the truth?"

"Everybody thinks that Batman killed Harvey Dent and those five other people-"

"I don't." Joker stopped and looked at Audrey closely then.

"You don't?"

"No. I'm pretty sure he's covering for someone else, someone he cares about. It seems highly unlikely that someone as high as him would fall so low. He was the epitome of justice in this town. He never killed a man, even though he brought in so many. He had standards unlike other people, and it's got to corrupt a man like that to kill someone. Batman isn't corrupted."

"And you would know."

"I feel like I would." She pushed off the counter and walked toward the fridge off to her right, hiding the knife as she grabbed a can of pop from the large machine, trying to keep the situation casual. Suddenly, Joker's hand on the back of her head slammed her temple into the chrome surface and the handle, and she cried out.

"You don't know the truth about him, and you don't understand our world." he hissed in her ear, "Which makes killing you so much more fun, because you run and scream because you don't know any better."

"Not true." Audrey countered, then brought the knife tip back. The sickening sound of it cutting through his clothing and into his gut made her want to vomit, but she held her ground and twisted it until he let her go. She could feel the warm blood running down her face, but was pretty sure Joker had it worse, and she plucked the knife from his gut.

"I know better." he laughed maniacally.

"There's still hope for you." and then white smoke exploded from a ball on the ground and the visibility dropped to six inches. Audrey coughed and dropped down to the ground to grab the ball before groping her way to a window and tossing it out onto the street. She then proceeded to open every single window in the house and grab a blanket to start fanning the smoke out. An hour later, when it was possible to see again, she found the bloody Chelsea grin painted on her wall.

"That's not coming off." she coughed, then closed the windows again, locked her front door, and just went to shower, then go to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Legit almost forgot to update because I had a five hour band thing this morning. . I can't feel my face anymore, needless to say. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. I wonder what happens...**

* * *

Jayden, luckily for Audrey, turned out to be preoccupied and particularly unobservant on Monday. She was too busy talking to her new boy toy over the phone and flirting obnoxiously with him, so Audrey just played Bubble Shooter all day, since the two of them really had nothing to do. A fantastic use of company time.

"What happened to your temple?" she jumped and clicked her mouse, screwing up her almost finished game. After a second, she turned to face Mr. Wayne with a look of pure, unadorned hatred.

"I fell."

"That doesn't look like you fell."

"I fell." she repeated, not budging on her story.

"Onto what? A sharp edge?"

"That is not a sharp edge injury, that's a blunt force injury." she finished her sentence abruptly as she gave away a detail.

"A blunt force onto what?" Mr. Wayne pressed. Audrey narrowed her eyes.

"You already messed up my game. I will mess up your face if you don't go away." Mr. Wayne sat down on her desktop, and she groaned.

"Oh Audrey! I just remembered I was supposed to ask you somethin'. Why'd you hang up so suddenly on Saturday?" Audrey turned her full on hatred to Jayden, who visibly paled and turned back around. She knew when to shut up.

"Did something happen?"

"Nope. I tripped and broke the phone." she continued lying.

"I can tell when you're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"You're not going to win this."

"We're not friends, you have no right to be concerned."

"We're only not friends because you refuse to be friends with anybody except Jayden. Did you have some traumatic experience early in life?"

"Maybe I did."

"What was it?"

"I was kidding." Mr. Wayne gripped her chin and turned her head to the side, investigating the sealed split. She pouted childishly until he finished examining it.

"You should get stitches."

"I'm okay with a scar." _Something to commemorate every weird thing in my life._ Mr. Wayne released her, and she dropped the pout, watching him looking at the injury.

"Mr. Wayne."

"Bruce." he said without second thought, still looking at the injury.

"Bruce." she amended. His gaze shifted from her temple to her eyes.

"If it disturbs you, I can cover it up." Audrey offered. Instead of saying anything, Mr. Wayne simply stood and went into his office. She watched him go, thoroughly confused and wanting an answer, but not brave enough to go get it. Jayden looked over her shoulder at Audrey, who simply sighed.

"So you fell and dropped the phone. Why didn't you call me back or let me in?"

"I forgot to call you, but the truth is the phone isn't the only thing that broke. I sorta kinda knocked your vase off the counter and it shattered."

* * *

"You're not allowed on the streets anymore." Jayden decided as they walked back to her car. Audrey looked at her, hands tucked into the pocket of her lime green sweatshirt, leaving perfect footprints in the inch of snow on the ground.

"Every time you're on the streets, you get into a fight with some thug or something, and it scares me that you may not make it out of one of those fights some day." despite the fact that she knew Jayden was drunk, Audrey couldn't help groan in protest of Jayden's worrisome nature.

"I'm not going to die in a fight. My bullet injuries are healing, and my concussion is gone."

"And? One of these days Batman won't be around to save you." Jayden stopped her, clearly going to have this serious conversation with Audrey whether or not she was drunk or Audrey wanted to or not.

"Look, I don't like not knowing if you're going to come into work. It scares me a lot, even when you do come in, and have injuries all over. Mr. Fox worries, because you haven't missed a day in the two or three years you've been working there until recently, and Bruce just looks at your seat every time he passes." Audrey was not about to have this conversation with a drunk friend, and was saved by someone screaming in an alley two blocks ahead. Jayden looked at Audrey, who was taking her hands out of her pocket.

"No, Odd, no. Just leave it."

"Like hell I'm just going to leave it."

"This stuff happens all the time around here! Why are you just now taking interest? Why do you have an ambition to save the world _now_?" Audrey looked at Jayden.

"We put our city in the sorry state it's in now. We should be helping fix it. Batman opened my eyes to that." she took off running, her new boots skidding on the snow as she went.

"Audrey!" she ignored Jayden shouting, quickly crossing one street and heading for the next intersection.

"Audrey!" she slipped to a halt at Jayden's scream, and landed on her hands and knees, then turned and looked back at her friend, who had a gun to her temple.

"Audrey!" Jayden's scream took on a hoarse quality, and Audrey got up, heading back for Jayden. The man, wearing a ski mask this time, dragged Jayden into a car, and Audrey sprinted toward it. It tore away from the curb before she got there, and she cursed loudly, then looked down and grabbed the sealed envelope at her feet. A scream sounded back in the alley she had been heading toward, and she pocketed the envelope and headed down there to find a tape player playing the screams. She kicked it, breaking it, and turned back to the street, opening the letter where inside she found a Joker card.

"FUCK!" while she had returned the device she was protecting to Wayne Enterprises, Joker was still out to get her for thwarting his plans multiple times, and probably for stabbing him. She shoved the card into her jean pocket and headed out onto the street, then followed the tire marks down the street sullenly, not quite sure what she was going to do. Half an hour of trekking later, she was aware of someone following her. Stopping in the middle of the street, she turned and faced Batman.

"What?" she snapped, "I'm kind of busy right now, so I really don't need your lecture about being out on the streets." she turned around and continued following the tire tracks.

"What are you doing?"

"Following tire marks."

"Why?" she turned around again.

"What do you want me to say? That I should have stayed home? The one time I was going to help someone else getting attacked, and Jayden gets kidnapped because of me. And the person I was going to help? A recording. You, and Bruce, and Jayden all told me to stay out of it and I didn't and now she's the one paying the price, not me." she finished her quasi rant and suddenly felt much better about the situation, if only because it was also a burden on someone else now.

"They think you're on foot. It would be faster to go by car."

"What god damn car? I don't own one, and Jayden has her keys." she paused, something suddenly occurring to her.

"And didn't you put Joker away? How the hell did he get back out?!"

"I've been hunting him down." he responded, offering no explanation whatsoever.

"You're doing a terrific job." she muttered, then started walking again.

"Go home. I'll get Jayden."

"Like hell. This is my fault, and I'm going to get her."

"Joker will kill you when he gets his hands on you."

"I'm scared of dying but if that's the price I pay for Jayden's life, so be it." she called backward over her shoulder. Seconds later, she heard the roar of a motorcycle approaching, and rolled her eyes, until the roar paused to idle beside her. She stopped and looked to her left at Batman on the motorcycle.

"Curiouser and curiouser." she muttered, getting on behind him and gripping his waist tightly as he took off, following the tracks. She hid her face from the snow, blowing back like bullets, in his shoulder, waiting for him to pull to a stop. He did some ten minutes later, and she was actually off the bike before he came to a full halt.

"Habicht." she turned and looked back at him.

"No jumping through fire." she smirked, then headed into the burned warehouse. Moonlight glinted through the windows, and she looked around, taking in the charred floor and walls. Laughter bounced off the walls, and her gaze raised, looking at walkways on the walls.

"You got here fast. Who gave you a ride? Our favourite bat?"

"Where is Jayden?" she demanded.

"All in due time. First, you have to beat my games. If you die, I'll let her go anyway. If you live, well, there's round two." bright spotlights lit up the place, and she squinted against the sudden light, then opened her eyes to find what they illuminated. In the middle of the floor, was a very concerning pile of dynamite taped together with a timer on them.

"Can you defuse a bomb? Oh, there's not enough time for that. Can you survive a bomb?" Joker's laugh jumped off the walls all around as she stared at her emanate red sticked death, and the blue number blinked down from fifteen seconds.

"Audrey?" her eyes widened as she watched Jayden's boy from the tech department walk in another door.

"Au-"

"Get out!" she shouted behind her as she took off running toward the man across the room. She slammed into him just as the bomb went off, and they hit the ground as a bubble of fire went up all around the room. Heat scorched her back, but luckily nothing burned. As the heat receded, she sat up.

"What the hell?" he questioned.

"Don't question, just get the hell out." she shoved at him, and he lurched to his feet, sprinting out the door. She picked herself up thinking, _Must've lured him here just for that._

"What's next?" she called.

"You can survive fire, bombs, and physical attacks. How about bullets?" she dodged behind charred machinery as the gunfire started, then scrambled out of the way as the bullets bit through the metal.

"Holy fuck! Are you using god damn snipers?" Audrey ran around behind the machinery, weaving an intricate pattern, heart pounding, until a body slammed into hers and took her to the ground. She started wailing on the person, assuming foe.

"Would you stop?" the person snapped. Audrey opened her eyes to see Batman above her, then smiled meekly. He lowered his body further, pinning her against the ground under his armor. After another minute or two, the barrage ended, and he got off of her. She sat up and looked around her at the littering of smashed bullets.

"Get me some of your armor, man." she muttered, standing up.

"That's cheating, Batman." Joker called. Audrey just waited, unsuspecting of the glistening chain that flew at her. She dropped down out of the way, and it nailed Batman, wrapping around him several times. A hooligan ran by and grabbed the ends while another got the lock on, then the two disappeared before Audrey or Batman could attack them. A set of bolas then wrapped around his ankles and someone knocked him over. All within the space of five seconds. Audrey's jaw simply dropped in disbelief.

"Seriously?! That's a little overkill, don't you think?" she shouted, then knelt on one knee.

"Are you okay?"

"Be careful." she nodded, then shot to her feet and out from the maze of machinery.

"Hit me with your best shot, brother." she called, raising her arms in challenge.

"Will do." a very _big _man waddled out into the clear area, and her eyes widened.

"Good luck." his insane laughter disappeared after a moment, and the man barreled toward Audrey. She narrowed her eyes, then ducked under his swinging arms and dodged around him. _He's like a fucking sumo wrestler. Where the hell did he find this guy?_ She somersaulted under his next blow, much lower, then jumped to her feet and kicked out. Her foot hit him in the stomach and it just jiggled, making him laugh.

"That tickled." he bellowed, then struck out, nailing her in the sternum. She flew backward into the cement floor, and groaned as her limbs protested any further movement.

"Jesus." she moaned, sliding to the floor.

"Puny woman. You're no match for me." he bellowed. Audrey prodded her chest lightly, then winced.

"It ain't all about strength, my friend." she surveyed the room, then picked herself up with some effort and took off for a spiral staircase in the far corner, dodging around the large man and running up the stairs. He was soon behind her, trying first to force his way up the stairs, until he found he was too large, when he then decided to try and tear the entire structure out of the ground.

It groaned under his grip, then shifted, causing Audrey to trip. She came down on her hands and knees, then pulled herself back up, and jumped off just before he yanked it off, and went stumbling backwards. She moved away from the weakened ledge, then investigated, finding several anvils and steel support bars.

"If only I could lift one." she grumbled.

"If you don't come back down, I'll just get your boyfriend." Audrey's eyes shot to Batman, still fighting with the chains, and then she took a second look around before deciding on what she had to do. She watched the lumbering pig for a few breathless moments, then ran at the railing and propelled herself into the air, praying that she didn't miss him and kill herself. Her feet slammed into his chest and he stumbled, then tripped over the remains of the staircase. He tilted, and his weight did the rest, bringing him down hard to the ground. Once he was down, she rolled off of him, surprised at how well that had worked. Once standing up, she looked around for some heavy duty, sharp thing. What she found was a bolt cutter.

Audrey held it up when she approached, then knelt down beside him and cut through the chains with some difficulty. Once finished with the chains, she unwrapped his legs and looked at the bolas briefly like they were alien objects.

"Are you injured?" he questioned. She shook her head, and he grabbed her around the waist, then shot a gun. A slim metal piece attached to a thick wire shot out, then expanded and latched onto a ledge. And then they were flying upward. She shrieked and latched onto him, arms around his neck. Only when they landed on the metal walkway above, did she realize where she came up to on him. _How high are the chances that I come up to the exact same spot on another man? _She questioned warily as he released her, then started walking fast. She jogged after him.

"Your chest?"

"Bruised." she muttered, prodding her sternum.

"Oh shit. That means every time I go to work, people get to see my newest injury." she groaned. Batman said nothing, leading her down a slope that took them into the wall. A couple seconds later, she heard a whooshing sound in front of her.

"Um..."

"Don't move forward." his voice called, several feet below her now. She groped in front of her, hands coming in contact with a pole slightly to the right.

"Oooh. A pole." she gripped it, then slid down like she used to in her childhood.

"You okay?" he didn't responded, and she rolled her eyes, following his footsteps until another whoosh sounded, and she groped for the pole, then slid down.

"Seriously. There are poles off to the right. Use 'em." she commented. They dropped down two more floors before they hit concrete, indicating a tunnel similar to the one they used to get there the first time.

"We can just kill the woman. There's no way they got up onto the ledge after Hue." Joker's voice rang out faintly. Before she realized she was, Audrey was sprinting down the corridor toward his voice. After a series of turns, she emerged in a lit clearing, then took three steps forward and nailed the Joker in the mouth with her boot. He stumbled back into a wall, and Audrey stepped in front of Jayden.

"Don't you dare."

"You're still alive? Wow!" he laughed, shooing the two armed men. They lowered their guns.

"And your bat?" she just watched him, and the two armed men nodded, then disappeared into the blackness. Seconds later, sounds of a scuffle ensued, and ended rather quickly. One set of footsteps continued coming, and she smirked. Joker looked at her.

"You'll regret walking into this world of violence very soon, my dear." his fingers played along her face, and she moved to strike him, only to have her arm jerked behind her, and find a knife by her mouth.

"Audrey." Jayden whimpered. Audrey locked eyes with her, then gave her a brief smile.

"Batman! I've got your woman~" he sang. Batman melted out of the shadows, anger flashing in his hazel eyes, much too brief to recognize.

"If you let me go, her pretty face can stay the way it is." Audrey frowned, then bit the knife and whipped her head to the other side, pulling it out of his grip and throwing it into the darkness.

"Oh dear. You're a smart one. Good thing I have other weapons." and then the muzzle of a gun was very present in her mind, against her temple.

"Now, what will your decision be?" The Joker sniffed at Audrey's hair, and she made a face between disgust as if looking at an ugly animal and bewilderment.

"Mmm, you smell good." he moved the hair from her neck, and pressed his lips to her neck. She twitched at the cold touch.

"Aw, not even angry? That's unfortunate." he shoved Audrey forward, and she stopped herself before running into the Dark Knight, whirling around to face Joker, only for him to be gone.

"You've got, oh, about five minutes and counting to get out of the building, Gotham's hero." Audrey looked at Batman.

"Go after him. I'll get what I came here for." if she watched carefully, Audrey could almost spot indecision in his eyes, and she smiled at the familiarness.

"Just go. We'll be fine." he pelted past her, and she grabbed the knife off the floor, then slashed Jayden's Ziptied wrists.

"Let's go." she grabbed Jayden's hand, then moved back the way they'd come, passing the concrete landing they'd come down onto, and then moving further down the tunnel.

"Audrey, you're freaking amazing." Jayden whispered.

"Save it. Until I get us out of here, I can't listen." Audrey started walking faster, the time weighing on her mind. Finally, they emerged out of the hatch door from her first visit. Seconds later, the building, several buildings over, seemed to inhale, sucking air out of the immediate area, then expelled it's breath in a fiery outburst.

"Audrey, I love you." Jayden decided, still quite drunk, but scared.

"I know. And I you, which is why you're staying at my apartment. We'll get your car in the morning."

**Oh that's what happens.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Totally forgot to update last night. I woke up at like 9, and then from 10 to 10 I hung out with a group of friends. Sooo yeah. Then I played bubbleshooter for an hour and passed out. Sorry!**

* * *

The next day, a Tuesday, and Audrey found herself remembering the strangest parts of the night, while Jayden fortunately remembered none of it. Audrey kept recalling how she found Batman's emotions displayed in his eyes so familiar, or how his height held such significance for her. The tonality his voice took on before she'd yelled at him to get out was also ringing a bell in her memory, but she couldn't quite place it.

Audrey was essentially alone, since Jayden was silent due to her hangover, leaving Audrey to drop her head on her desk. _Why does it matter to me? I don't want to know who Batman is. That's a terrible, terrible burden, to have to guard that secret. _

"You okay?" Mr. Wayne's voice whispered in her ear. Audrey jumped and slammed her head into his. She winced and rubbed the back of her head, knowing he had intentionally scared her. It appeared that the two had gone from a relationship of indifference, to one of hate, and finally to one of love-hate.

"Thinking about the warehouse that exploded." It had been all over the news, but Audrey found herself only glad that no one had spotted her entering the building. However, after the bomb blast settled, hundreds of Joker cards had littered the ground. So now the city knew he was back, and if she ever saw him again, she'd have to be careful about being seen or else they'd think she was helping him or something ridiculous.

"At least it was empty." she snorted.

"Empty of everything but a few thousand Joker cards."

"_I've got your woman~"_ Joker's voice sang in her head. Mr. Wayne checked the time on her computer.

"I'm leaving. You'd be wise to think about leaving as well." she shook her head.

"Unlike you, I have planned out work. I can't just pop into a division to help." he patted the top of her head like she was a child, then left. She glared at his retreating back, then turned to her computer.

"How sweet," Jayden cooed, "he cares about you." Audrey gagged.

"No, he's just being my boss."

"You're in denial. You just won't admit that you two are in love."

"Are you running a fever?" Audrey kicked her chair over and tested her friend's forehead, which was actually remarkably cool.

"Serious case of denial. You even think I'm in denial. Gurl, we got problems." Jayden assumed the sterotypical black woman persona for her last sentence, and Audrey laughed.

"Gurl, you got problems." she countered, then kicked back over to her own desk.

"Oh, oh Audrey!" Audrey looked back at Jayden.

"We're having dinner with the parents tonight." Audrey groaned and let her head fall backward, making the worst noises she could in protest.

"That's very attractive, yes. You're not getting out of it. Right now."

"Right _now_?"

"Right now." Jayden shut everything on her end down and grabbed her purse and pea coat. Audrey turned around and turned everything off, then grabbed her respective items and followed Jayden out. The two probably made quite the sight walking down the street in this town. There was still some racism beneath the skin, and a very white girl walking with a very black girl was a spectacle. They boarded a train, then rode until Jayden gestured for them to get off, landing them in a somewhat upscale restaurant than what the two normally could afford. Audrey whistled as they walked inside and Jayden got them seated at their reserved table, where Jayden's new toy sat.

"Derek." she purred, sitting down beside him. Audrey sat across from him, feeling every inch of awkward splayed out across the table.

"Welcome to Meet the Parents, Derek." Jayden began.

"She's not your mother." Audrey snorted.

"No. Neither of us have parents anymore, so we act as each other's parent. It's a long complicated story that I'm not going to explain."

Dinner wasn't so awkward that Audrey couldn't sate her enormous appetite, and in the process even managed to do her job of surveying Derek and deciding whether or not he was worthy. Everything was relatively smooth sailing, right up until the three quarters mark.

"Audrey?" she closed her eyes, hiding the icy orbs from view and displaying her exasperation plainly across her face. Jayden laughed at her, and then Audrey opened her eyes and turned to face Mr. Wayne with a dazzling smile she never used with him.

"Hello Mr. Wayne."

"Wow. Are you in a good mood?" her smile faltered, not doing it's job of scaring away in intrusive man.

"Yes. I'm meeting Jayden's boyfriend." And then, displaying irritating obliviousness to Audrey's emotions and propriety of a date, he sat down in the fourth chair.

"Boyfriend?" he questioned, looking like an eager school boy about to go to gym class. Audrey had to resist the urge to drop her head on the table and stay like that.

"Yes, boyfriend. Bruce, this is Derek. Derek, Bruce." Audrey watched the African American man begin to freak out, yet attempt to keep himself in check.

"Mr. Wayne, it's a pleasure."

"Oh no, the pleasure is mine. As well as the bill."

"Are you sure? Audrey's already eaten the entire menu."

"Not the entire menu." she defended, already anticipating the death of this relationship.

* * *

Audrey walked into work the next day, still somewhat angry from dinner. She practically slumped into her seat, and found only one vanilla bean. With a small grin, she lifted it up, then shock crossed her face as a playing card fluttered down off the bottom of the cup. She lifted it up and looked at the Joker, then flipped it over to find a picture of her printed on the back, from yesterday. She was grinning at her computer screen, Mr. Wayne sitting on her desk in the background. She taped the card to her desk like it was her, then got up and walked over to the window to line up the perspective. Once she lined it up, she turned around and looked out the window. Across the street was a hotel, and the window she stood at was level with a window of the hotel. The longer she looked, the more she found something wrong with this picture.

"Ms. Habicht?" Audrey glanced back at Fox, and gave him a smile before returning to peering out the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing." she turned around and headed back to her desk, pocketing the card after ripping the tape off.

"I need you to accompany me to the basement, since Ms. White is taking a vacation."

"What for?" Audrey questioned, following him. He handed her a manila folder.

"There are some missing items we have to look into." he replied. Audrey found his response rather evasive. She opened the folder and scanned the list of items, but it made all of no sense to her. They stepped into the executive elevator and dropped to the basement fast, several floors underground. Fox let out a sigh as they stepped into the concrete bunker.

"It feels good to be back." Audrey looked at the man.

"You worked here before?"

"Indeed. I was exiled here by the previous CEO. This home for the unwanted, became my home. Now, what is first on the list?"

"Nomex survival suit." Fox frowned as he walked over to a large metal cabinet and pulled open a drawer.

"I know where that one is, though."

"Should I write it down?"

"No. It's been lent to a friend." he winked at her, and she grinned.

"Devious, Mr. Fox. Next is... memory cloth?" Fox snorted.

"I know where that is too."

"Same friend?"

"Yes, same friend." she laughed.

"Your friend certainly has an interesting arsenal of borrowed items. The Tumbler is next." Fox started walking, and stopped some five minutes later in front an image of a camouflaged vehicle.

"Hm. This one I believe was destroyed." but as Audrey looked at the image, she found several alarming similarities to the Batmobile.

"What is it, Ms. Habicht?" she snapped her attention back to Fox.

"Sorry. It looked kind of familiar." she lied. He nodded, and she looked down at the sheet.

"High quality military climbing harness." Fox started walking again, and Audrey followed. He opened another drawer, and Audrey looked at the shape of the foam in it, bringing her latest encounter with Batman to mind. Yes, he also had a belt that would fit in there.

"Friend."

"It would appear that all of these have been borrowed by your friend, Mr. Fox." he chuckled.

"It would."

"Is he deep sea diving in Russian territory?" he laughed now, and Audrey grinned.

"Something akin to that. What is next?"

"Grappling gun." he smiled.

"We can go upstairs now." she laughed.

"I kind of want to explore down here. May I?"

"Just don't borrow anything." she handed him the folder, and he disappeared into the elevator. She came closer to the open drawer and touched the edges of the foam, imagining the belt sitting in here, with shoulder bits attached. After a second, she shut the drawer and moved back to the Tumbler, looking at the details in the picture.

"This is definitely the Batmobile, painted black." she ran her fingers over the design picture, then went back to the armor drawer and opened it. Inside was the empty drawer from before, with no picture. The foam lines were too vague to be sure, but after the grappling gun was mentioned, she was almost sure. Batman and Fox knew eachother. Batman had influence over Fox.

While she walked, she continued piecing things together, running her hands over the odd devices. Batman was always angered when she got into situations, as was Mr. Wayne. They were the same height, had they same eyes.

"Either they're twins, or Bruce Wayne is Batman." she muttered, decidedly. After wasting an hour looking at the condemned items, she got back in the elevator.

"I guess only the executives or people with express permission can come down here." Audrey murmured, then hit the top floor button. The ride up was completely silent, Audrey in her own thoughts. Joker knew where she worked, _exactly _where her desk was. He was trying to kill her, or get her out of the picture. He was using people close to her to get under her skin. One of the people she was relatively close to was both her employer and a man she had to admit she was vaguely interested in. And Mr. Wayne was Batman, who was assisting her in taking down Joker. Or was she assisting him?

She shook her head as the elevator neared the top floors, then stepped out of the elevator and strode down the walkway toward the back of the floor, and her desk, where Mr. Wayne was perched, leaning against the wall of his office.

"Where have you been?"

"Around and about." she looked at her desk, noticing the vanilla bean was gone.

"Where did the..."

"I put it in the fridge." he held out his, and she grinned, taking his, then pitching the one in the fridge.

"Why did you do that?"

"If you can believe it, I'm getting sick of vanilla beans." she half lied. Bruce laughed, and Audrey paused briefly, zoning out while he answered.

"I can. No Jayden?" she frowned, deciding to just refer to him as Bruce now. Things were much more intimate if she was correct about his identity.

"Audrey." she snapped back to attention.

"Huh?"

"I asked where Jayden was."

"Apparently on vacation. Like that's true."

"You sound malicious." Audrey smiled wickedly.

"Jayden's hangovers last a few days. She's probably sleeping it off in her apartment." Bruce laughed, and she patted his shoulder.

"Now, go do work so I can do my work that Jayden pulled me away from rudely and that you ended up paying for."

"It was worth it." he smiled devilishly, then headed into his office. Audrey closed her eyes, then focused her mind on what she got payed for.

* * *

Audrey tacked Joker's warning to her board, then looked at it when she arrived home that night.

"What kind of warning could he actually be posing? And what did that device he was after do?" Audrey murmured. She ran a finger over her image on the card, then went to take a shower. Some twenty minutes later, she stepped out, toweled wrapped around her, and headed to the kitchen, only to find Batman standing in the kitchen. Her eyes went wide, and once he caught sight of her, she wished she could see how red he was probably turning.

"That mask must help in hiding your emotions, huh?" Audrey questioned, standing still.

"Get dressed. I need you." she raised her eyebrows.

"Let me get this straight. Despite all of the times you've told me to butt out, _you _need _my _help. I should film this." he was not amused, and she rolled her eyes and turned around, heading back into her room and pulling on a pair of smoky gray skinny jeans and her black DCs, then yanked on a black camisole over her head and a black sweatshirt with Wayne across the front. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and wrung it out over the sink, then stepped back out of the room.

"Where are we going?"

"The police station. You need to go by street." she cracked her knuckles and nodded. He headed for the open window, and she pocketed the house keys.

"Where you going?" her elderly neighbor questioned as she moved toward the main door, now on the ground floor, "You look like you're up to no good." Audrey winked at him.

"I'm going to sneak around town."

"Be careful, Audrey." he warned. Audrey nodded her thanks, then took to the streets. Street lights barely illuminated her path as she went, and a sense of foreboding followed her as she went, nearly invisible when not under light. After a few seconds of plodding in the snow and feeling like her organs were going to burst from continued anxiety, she began a light jog to the station house, where she was let in the front doors, then held up before security.

"Ma'am, you do not have authorization to go beyond this point."

"I understand that."

"Then I must ask you to vacate the premises." Audrey weighed her options of just forcing past the officer manning security or leaving like he asked. Neither seemed like the right route, so she simply leaned against the wall. After a few minutes of waiting, a very flustered Gordon ran into the room and locked eyes with her.

"Ms. Habicht?" he questioned. She nodded, and he ushered her through the metal detector, then up several flights of stairs to the roof, where Batman was waiting. The spotlight was off, leaving them in near blackness.

"Joker is back." he opened.

"We know." both Audrey and Batman replied. She kept her eyes trained on Gordon.

"Then what does he want this time?"

"He attempted to steal a device from Wayne Enterprises a week and a half ago, until Habicht hid it from him."

"What does it do?"

"It was designed to create a vacuum inside the main chamber, and cause things to implode, explosively."

"That's redundant." she commented under her breath.

"So he just wants to cause chaos?"

"He doesn't plan. A year and a half ago, he just wanted to make Gotham a city without rules. Who says he's not here to finish the job?" Batman questioned. Audrey pursed her lips in thought.

"If that were the case, why is he taking so long?" Gordon questioned.

"His focus has been shifted." she said, drawing Gordon's attention to her.

"By what?"

"Me." they both looked at her now.

"I blocked his attempt to get his device. I helped you beat information out of his hitman. He staged a holdup at Wayne to find the warehouse it was in, and I took out his men. He sent in a spy to get the information, and I found him out. I'm his new playtoy, and he wants to kill me." Gordon's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You sound like he's already tried." she nodded.

"Two days ago. Went to see a movie with my friend and she got kidnapped."

"He escaped." Batman summarized.

"He knows who I work for, and exactly where in the building I am, to the desk I sit at. He also knows where I live." Batman locked his gaze on her.

"You didn't tell me that."

"It happened today. Left his calling card under a vanilla bean with my picture taped to the back. Anyway, he's after me. I say we draw him out using me as bait."

"No." Both Batman and Gordon managed at the same time.

"We're not going to have another Harvey Dent situation." Gordon pressed firmly. Audrey frowned.

"Don't you get it? I'm being the new Harvey Dent. I am the face Batman can't be. You've got six murders on your head, and it's insane to ask you to take your mask off. While the police are supposed to be pining for your arrest, you're doing the dirty work to keep the streets clean. I'm the one with a face, the one who gets stalked by reporters and fights crime on my way home. You do what I can't, and I do what you can't." Gordon blinked.

"What can you do that he can't?"

"I'm a name to a face that can inspire people. And I'm a woman." the second statement implied so many things at once that Gordon physically choked on his spit.

"Now we need to come up with a plan to draw him out."

"Figure out his next move." Batman suggested. Audrey rubbed her biceps through her sweatshirt, then dug her shoes into the snow.

"If he is after Audrey, he'll be looking for another chance to kill her." Gordon began.

"His last attempt was through kidnap and life threatening challenges." Audrey added.

"He is psychotic, so his next move should be something totally unexpected." Gordon added yet again.

"He's tried bombing, shooting and brute force." Audrey pursed her lips.

"I'm thinking maybe an accident?" Audrey suggested. Gordon began to shake his head, then paused.

"I was going to say that wouldn't be graphic enough for him, but that might actually fit better. If it's an accident, he can watch exactly what happens by pretending to be a bystander."

"Take a vacation." Audrey looked at Batman like he was crazy.

"You've got to be kidding me. He knows where I work, and can get inside, he knows where I live. There is almost nowhere I can go that's safe. Besides, if we're trying to draw him out, that kind of requires my presence."

"Then turn around." a voice whispered in Audrey's ear, followed by maniacal laughter. Gordon gripped her bicep and began to pull her forward, only for Joker to begin pulling her back. In reaction, she lashed out with her elbows, feeling both make contact with his face. He let go, and she turned on her heel and kicked out with her foot, sending him sprawling across the roof.

"Oh, that tickled!" he grinned, laughing from his position in the snow.

"I'll tickle you again." Audrey muttered, stepping forward.

"Ah ah! Wouldn't want you to end up like swiss cheese so early in the game." he pointed to her chest, and her eyes followed his finger to the red dot hovering over her sternum. She scowled, and he laughed again.

"That's more like it! I like to see such a serious expression on your face. You're much cuter when you're angry." she made her face go passive, and Joker frowned. A second red dot landed on her, resting on her forehead.

"It's not fun when no one reacts. You're supposed to be angry that I'm hitting on you." he sat up, then climbed to his feet and pointed at Batman.

"You're supposed to get protective, and you're supposed to display the fatherly figure." his finger swung from Batman to Gordon, then his gaze came to rest on Audrey again.

"Oh come, on there are two rifles pointed at you now. No response? Not going to beg for your life?"

"Like hell." she responded, "Kill me if you feel like it." he looked at her like she was the crazy one, and not the other way around.

"However, keep in mind how dull your days might get then."

"Wouldn't the need to exact revenge keep our precious bat fighting ferociously?" she shook her head.

"He's got his emotions under key for the most part. And if he wanted to exact revenge for anybody, wouldn't it have been Harvey?" Joker frowned for a moment.

"No, it would have been Rachel. He reacted so strongly when I threatened her at Harvey's fund raiser." Audrey glanced back at Batman to make sure he wasn't about to make a move, then faced Joker again.

"But he hasn't, has he? You kill me, his revenge will be locking you up eventually, again. It'll only make your days tedious, boring, and orderly. Besides, I'm just another pesky citizen to him." he pondered this, and she inched forward a step.

"You may be onto something. Tell me, have you ever thought about being clinically insane?"

"Define what that entitles." she took another step forward.

"Killing people for fun, with no motive, and being completely unpredictable and taking pleasure in everything." she shook her head.

"I can't say I have, then. Sorry, maybe next time." the clown and the woman looked at eachother for a long stretch of time, before he broke out into laughter again.

"I like you. You have such a different take on me. Tell me, would you like to know how I got these scars?" she cocked her head to the side.

"No time for that today, I believe." a gunshot rang out, and Audrey watched the bullet bite into Joker's shoulder. His upper body jerked backward and he arched his back oddly before he straightened out.

"I guess time is out." he shrugged, and Audrey dropped to the ground without pause after his words. Her legs bent under her at a painful angle as the rest of her body lay flush to the snow and rooftop. Bullets bit into the snow above her head, and then she propelled herself back onto her feet in time to see Batman slam a fist into Joker's face. Gordon gripped Audrey's arm and dragged her behind the spotlight as bullets flew. She dropped down into a crouch behind it, heart hammering in her chest as she watched fists fly, one after another slamming into the Joker. He laughed as he was pummeled, and Audrey just shook her head. Lackeys landed on the roof, and she shot from her hiding spot, Gordon yelling at her as she streaked toward the two lanky fools, who were heading toward Batman and Joker. She stopped and slid under them both, sending up a spray of snow, then propelling herself upward seamlessly and spinning to throw an upper cut into one's jaw, then an elbow into another's. She faced the first one full on then, and caught him full on in the chest with her fist, sending him sprawling to the ground. She rounded on the other, elbow catching him in the throat as she turned. He squawked like a bird, and she ducked down, punching out one knee, then letting the first guy nail his buddy in the jewels as she ninja rolled out from between them. Number Two fell, and she smashed her fist into Number One's nose, then boxed his ears and pushed him to the ground. Number Two began crawling to his feet, and her foot connected with the top of his head hard, slamming his head against the roof. Content with her damage, she swiveled to see Joker flying away on a passing train. Number One began to sit up, and she smashed his face with her foot. Batman swiveled around to face the spotlight, where Gordon was standing up straight.

"Do you two have similar training?" he questioned. Audrey laughed.

"No. I'm just a badass." she looked at Batman.

"You can head off to your cave where you sleep by day. I'll help him drag these two inside, then head home." despite his emotionless facade, she could almost hear Bruce going, _"Like hell I'll leave you to walk alone at night."_ after an awkward moment, she grabbed Number One around the chest, and hauled him backward into the building and down several flights of stairs to the main floor.

"Gordon will be down in a moment. I bid you all farewell." she walked through security again.

"Habicht!" she turned to face Gordon.

"How can I find you again?"

"Same way you did tonight." she called over her shoulder, then left.


	8. Chapter 8

**Is it already Saturday? I feel like it was just Saturday. Actually, I don't feel like it was Saturday at all, but considering I watched all of Revolution, and the 3 hour movie of Pearl Harbour (Which is sending me off to my Captain America fanfic), I guess it is Saturday.**

**I do not speak German. My only German knowledge comes from my father cursing at me in German and greeting us. Or from my Geometry teacher. So, if the grammar is all wrong later, I apologize. Google Translate is... Google Translate.**

**And oh my Gods it got longer. I changed this first seen due to, uhm, a suggestion that I found amusing. Sorry if it seems a little out of the blue, but I really wanted to try it out. However, it's like, seven pages long now, so sorry...**

Audrey turned the key in the lock, then stepped into her apartment, unsurprised to find Batman inside again. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes?"

"Are you injured?"

"Totally. Some jack ass just jumped me and dislocated my thumb." she replied sarcastically, suddenly thinking of a beautiful and fantastic way to tell Bruce she knew who he was.

"Habicht."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." her eyes flickered to the windows, and she suppressed a grin when she saw the curtains drawn. Then she did something she knew tripped the power in her apartment, and stepped on the chord of a lamp. The entire apartment went black, and she dropped down out of view, then got behind him and curled an arm around his throat, holding on until he crumpled like a rag doll.

"I feel like that shouldn't have been possible, and that he should've been expecting something like that." she muttered before settling her weight back on her left foot.

"Oh sweet Jesus he's going to be pissed at me." a shot of fear and adrenaline shot through her system, and she moved swiftly, boarding up the windows with large objects around, then finding a folding chair and tying Bruce to it with bungee chords. Out of curiousity, she touched the underside of his helmet, then jumped back with a yelp. Her fingers tingled painfully and she shook her hand out.

"Bastard. Sneaky little bastard." she shook out her hands as the painful tingling spread up her arm slowly. She looked around the apartment, then went to a drawer to wrap her hands in electrical tape, then pulled on a pair of cotton gloves, then leather, then rubber dishwashing gloves. On second thought, she found a pair of hiking boots and pulled them on as well. She turned off the lights then, and waited in the pitch blackness of the room.

Thirty minutes later, while Audrey chewed on her arm, Bruce's breathing hitched slightly. She looked up, then rose from her seat and silently crept across the floor to stand in front of him.

"Hello." she said in the deepest voice she could manage.

"Where am I?" he growled menacingly. _Sooo pissed. I should just escape now before he strangles me._

"Somewhere." she responded deeply, then took a quiet breath before touching the mask again. The shock coursed through her system, still painful but less immobilizing. She pulled off the heavy thing, then set it on the floor. Her eyes had long since adjusted to the dark, and she could see Bruce looking around before he snapped the bungee chords and threw her to the floor. Ever the sadistic one while her head began throbbing, boisterous laughter ripped from Audrey's throat. Bruce froze over her, and she curled up on her side as the pain began to get to her and she continued laughing.

"Bruce, Bruce honey we're still in my apartment." she said in between laughs. He found the lights and turned it all back on while Audrey curled up into a tiny ball.

"You choked me?"

"I'm sorry about that." she wiped away tears, then pulled off the gloves.

"I can't believe you knocked me out. That was uncalled for."

"Sorry, but it was just so tempting. I mean, whoever gets the jump on _Batman_?"

"Did you touch me before the gloves?"

"It's fine. Seriously. You should go ahead and strangle me now." he knelt down beside her, totally not focusing on the fact that she'd just demasked him.

"How the hell did you find out?"

"Mr. Fox took me into the place with all the discontinued stuff." he shook his head and gripped her hand, inspecting her fingertips. They were bright red, but otherwise only tingly and sensitive.

Bruce pulled Audrey to her feet and she stumbled after him into the kitchen as he forced her fingers under freezing cold water.

"Jesus that's cold. Let go!" she jerked back, and he held her still.

"Bruce!" she jerked back harder and his grip slipped, allowing her to slam her elbow into his titanium dipped Kevlar weave.

"Jesus mother fucking Christ on a fucking pogo stick!" she gripped her elbow and tried not to cry as her body screamed at her for being stupid. Bruce simply sighed and opened the fridge to grab an icepack.

"Is it possible for you not to get hurt? Ever?"

"I don't get hurt when I sleep." she muttered, pouting.

"We'll see about that." he lifted her up onto the counter, then held her elbow up to look at it. The area had turned bright red already, and was beginning to swell slightly. He poked her elbow and she winced.

"At least you didn't break anything."

"Because it would be a total shame if I broke myself on you."

"Are you always this sharp at night?" he muttered.

"Only when you ruin my fun with your God damned mask and-" he silenced her with his lips, still holding her arm up above her head. Audrey's hand twitched in her lap, and she forced herself to sit still. After only a few brief seconds, he pulled away.

"You did all of this to yourself. You could've been like a normal person and just told me, or even not told me at all. Then you wouldn't be sp-" this time it was Audrey's turn to cut him off, resting her free, left, hand on his neck and kissing him gently, without much contact. Her taunt worked, and he deepened the kiss, free hand resting on the counter for leverage. There was a click and whoosh, and Audrey pulled back, surprised, and looked at her fridge. The blades from Bruce's brace were imbedded into the formerly unblemished chrome refrigerator.

"Bruce!"

"Small price to pay."

"It's my bloody fridge!"

"I'll buy you a new one."

"It's my fridge though! You don't just replace a well loved appliance like that!" he gave her an odd look, lowering her elbow back down.

"Is this a poor person thing?" she smacked his chest.

"I'm not poor!"

"By comparison, you are." she smacked his face lightly, and he gripped her hand with a childish half smile.

"I'm going to leave now before you actually hurt me, or more probably hurt yourself more." she jerked against him, and he fled, pulling his sharp projectiles out of her fridge surface, then grabbing his cowl and disappearing out the window, the block now on the floor.

* * *

Audrey, after having woken up at nearly four that morning, spent the next three hours freaking out over how to dress, then forty five minutes pampering in the shower, and ten minutes actually getting dressed and eating her food on the train. She nearly ran into the lobby and moved quickly toward the elevator, then handed over her ID and bounced on the balls of her feet. The bald security man handed back the ID, and she practically jumped the turn style and hit the elevator button.

"Running late, are we?"

"You have no idea." Audrey muttered in response, checking her watch. The train had been running slow, making her an additional twenty minutes late. That half an hour was enough time for Jayden to do something completely stupid.

The elevator finally arrived what felt like an hour later, and Audrey stepped inside, then hit the button for the top floor nearly twenty times before the doors closed. She knew her frantic actions had absolutely no effect on the speed of the elevator, or much else for that matter, but it made her feel like she was actually doing something to prevent the disaster she was surely about to walk into.

Sure enough, as soon as Audrey set foot on the floor, she could see a fiasco occurring down at the opposite end. She walked slowly, knowing now that she couldn't prevent anything and changing her plan to wanting to flee.

Five pitiful minutes later, and she was among the chaos, that took the form of perhaps two dozen bouquets all over her desk area. Jayden was sitting in Audrey's chair, acting like and looking like a princess. It was hard not to look loved and wonderful when you wore a silver pencil skirt and golden, shimmery blouse and were surrounded by beautiful flowers.

Flowers that were beginning to choke the asthmatic.

Several feet away, more in Jayden's cube than Audrey's were Bruce and Mr. Fox, the former just looking at the flowers, the latter looking at the former with an amused expression. Audrey approached, and her foot made the mistake of letting her heel click against the floor. She cringed, and all eyes turned to her.

"What mysterious man have you been sleeping with, Odd?" Jayden questioned, flashing a brilliant white smile.

"When was the last time I had time to sleep with anybody?" Audrey countered, then coughed into her elbow and pulled her scarf up around her mouth and nose. Jayden rolled her eyes.

"Bruce wouldn't let me see who they're from, so you have to check, _ now._" Audrey grabbed the card off the nearest bouquet, then broke the seal and opened it.

_Thank you for allowing me to visit your lovely home, and giving me the pleasure of feeling your uniqueness physically. _

Audrey disguised her shock quick as she pretended to smile affectionately.

"It's just Bob."

"Bob? Who's Bob? Do I know who this Bob is?" Audrey shot a pointed look at Jayden.

"He's an old friend. He's always been jokingly obsessive of me, and he's thanking me for allowing him to feet the blissful pain of my fist in his face recently." she completely lied, fabricating the deceit out of her recent events and Bob's personality.

"Your fist in his face?" Mr. Fox questioned. Audrey leaned back against the desktop and pulled down her scarf to sneeze, then pulled it back up.

"Since I'm a superheroine now, I went to Bob to teach me how to fight. He taught me when I was a teenager too." she shrugged, then picked at a thorny rose bouquet.

"Jayden, help me disperse these among the departments before I die of an asthma attack."

"I want to keep that one." Jayden gestured to the one Audrey was picking at, and Audrey dropped her hands to the vase and lifted it up to place it on Jayden's desk, then pocketed the card and grabbed another two vases, checked for cards, then went to the elevator. Bruce slid in beside her and hit the floor button two above the one she'd hit. The doors closed, and she waited for some quiet explosion.

"Bob?" he questioned calmly.

"I actually do have a friend named Bob. He's black, about ten years older than me, and has an adoptive white Goth kid for a son. Unfortunately, his weirdness did not send me the flowers." Bruce hit the Emergency Stop button, and then looked at Audrey.

"You're going to get pollen on your suit."

"Am I not the only man you've been kissing?" she raised both brows.

"Wow. You're actually adorably possessive. Again, unfortunately I have no time for a lovelife, so you're probably the first person I've kissed in several years."

"You sent them to yourself?" she laughed.

"I wish. That would be the best prank ever." she put the vase in her right arm down, then pulled out the note and handed it to Bruce. He read it, then just looked at it blankly for a moment before saying anything.

"Joker was in your house. And you didn't tell me." she rolled her lip in, an annoying nervous habit that had led to multiple cases of a bleeding lip.

"Well, no. When I tripped and fell, it wasn't me being clumsy. Although that would be a viable excuse." only briefly did Audrey wonder why she was saying so much. She quickly attributed it to her returning anxiety about practically everything.

"So he got into your house and attacked you." she nodded slowly. He seemed pensive for a moment, then hit the Emergency Stop button again, consequently restarting the elevator's descent and allowing the noise to fill up the more than slightly awkward silence.

"I don't want you living alone."

"Was I drugged when we got married?" Audrey snapped, somewhat defensive, "I can take care of myself."

"As obvious by the split on your temple and the bruise forming around it."

"Wow. It hasn't even been a day and we're already at each other's throats." the elevator dinged, signaling the pause of the brewing fight and Bruce's first floor. The doors opened, and he stepped out.

"As obvious by me taking care of the looney's morons yesterday." she growled in a low voice before the doors shut. Bruce's gaze met hers as they did, and she made sure to erase any trace of emotion. The elevator dropped down to Audrey's floor, and she moved out with a kind smile to the person waiting for the elevator.

* * *

Audrey had barely been home that Thursday night for two hours before someone came a-knocking. Glad that she'd begun using the chain, deadbolt and knob lock while she was still in the apartment, Audrey rose to her feet from the bar stool and looked through the peephole at Bruce, who looked just uncomfortable enough for Audrey to take pleasure.

"Wer ist da?" she questioned in her best German accent.

"I know it's you, Audrey." Bruce responded, sounding rather irritated. Audrey decided to make him a little more mad.

"Wer ist Audrey? Ich heiße Catherine."

"You are most certainly not Catherine the Great."

"Sie sprechen von der russischen Königin?"

"You obviously understand English. Audrey, open the door. I know which apartment is yours."

"Es gibt keine Audrey hier. Bitte gehen sie weg."

"Audrey." his fist hit the door, and she jumped, accidentally breaking a nail on the crack between the door and door frame. She frowned at her hand.

"Ein moment." she undid all the locks and opened the door, letting Bruce inside, then shutting and relocking everything before heading to the bathroom to get nail clippers.

"Sie sind wirklich ärgerlich." she commented.

"Stop with the German."

"Weißt du überhaupt verstanden?"

"Vaguely." she grinned and moved into the kitchen to clip her nails short over the trash.

"What do you want?" Audrey questioned, bouncing straight back into her irritated mood from the elevator this morning. Instead of saying anything, Bruce went from window to window, checking their locks.

"Are you still on this shtick?" Audrey sat down on her bar stool and watched him move from room to room to check windows, then tested the doors.

"Satisfied?"

"Not in the least." she looked skyward, and Bruce crossed the room back toward her. Only then did she realize he was wearing worn jeans and a half unbuttoned dress shirt. Obviously his version of comfy clothes, though not casual in the least.

"You actually went home before coming here?"

"I want you to stay with me." her eyes went wide as saucers as she waited for him to laugh or crack a smile or something to indicate he was joking. When nothing of the sort occurred, Audrey took a deep breath to prepare for her one word, two letter response.

"No." he stepped closer, inside her personal bubble, and she moved back against the counter's edge, trying to keep room between her and his distracting presence.

"I can persuade you." he tried.

"Persuade me, because right now there are a few things running through my head. You're over reacting, for instance. You're just trying to sleep with me and discard me, as another example. A man like you, does not invite a woman like me to live with him after a day of somewhat personal relations. There is always an ulterior motive." Audrey kept her eyes on his, hoping to God that the disturbing colour and directness would unnerve him before his own eyes did the same to her.

"Any ulterior motive I would have would be your protection. Do you want me to list reasons why my idea is logical?"

"Please."

"If Joker knows where you live, a couple of locks aren't going to stop him from getting inside and killing you. I can't let you be alone because you know who I am and if anybody gets to you, they can and will torture it out of you. You may have gotten some training from your friend, but it won't be enough to protect you against bombs and guns."

"If I go somewhere 'safe', he'll just go after people close to me. I can buy a gun to protect myself against other guns, even if I can't handle a bomb. Also, you can't either. Who says I'm not strong enough to resist torture?" Audrey countered easily. Bruce just held eye contact with her, and she could tell she was getting distracted as she struggled to keep her eyes from wandering.

"It takes most people a month to handle a gun correctly."

"I picked one up and shot a man with it."

"After a miserable attempt at first. And you are most definitely not strong enough to resist torture."

"You can't know that." Bruce placed a hand on Audrey's jaw, and she attempted to remain focused as heat built up under her skin. He stepped even closer, and she leaned back over the counter top to put some space there. The inches she'd fought for were lost quickly as Bruce pulled her against him with his left hand and bent over her. Her heart rate kicked up, and he lowered his mouth by her ear, cheek touching hers.

"You feel everything strongly. When something becomes too much, you're like clay." he murmured. She barely even twitched in acknowledgment of his words. Pressing further to prove his point, Bruce snuck his hand up the back of Audrey's tee shirt and her breath hitched quietly as she tried to remain in control of her body. His lips barely touched her neck before she completely gave up and proved his point.

Bruce quit teasing Audrey when she went limp in his arms, and pulled back to give her space again. She simply closed her eyes and rolled both top and bottom lips in.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll stay with you for fourteen days only." she agreed.

"I will pick you up tomorrow." Audrey saw his eyes catch on something on the wall to his left, by the window to the fire escape. Audrey paled almost immediately, recalling her night spent scrubbing the wall to remove Joker's graffiti and the real reason she hadn't let Jayden inside.

"What is on your wall?"

"Water stains maybe?" she suggested, taking only the briefest of glances. While the blood and come off, it had left behind a pinkish hue on her white wall, and the Chelsea grin was still quite visible.

"What happened when Joker was here?"

"He just wanted to talk." Audrey evaded easily, then slid off the stood and went to get pop from the fridge. She saw the blood that she'd neglected to clean up on the handle, and almost covered it with her hand before Bruce's hand grabbed her wrist.

"Whose blood is that?" Bruce questioned, whilst Audrey remained silent as she thought of any way possible to lie through this. None of her lies were convincing enough, even to her own mental ears.

"Mine."

"And on the wall?"

"Joker's. He slammed my head into the fridge and I stabbed him with a knife." Audrey confessed, then wiped away the blood with her other hand and opened the fridge to grab a Sprite. Bruce wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped his chin onto her shoulder.

"Thank God." she looked back at him, slightly uncomfortable with this physical contact.

"I have a request."

"Everything has strings." he dug his chin into her shoulder and she grinned.

"I'd prefer to keep an eye on you, and I've a party to go to on Saturday. Will you come?"

"Am I going to be one in a trio?" she questioned.

"How many women do you think I'm dating?"

"Oh we're dating now? You haven't taken me anywhere yet, and three kisses do not mean anything like dating."

"Do I need to take you somewhere?"

"No because I'm pretty sure it's against policy to engage in a relationship with a coworker, and I'd prefer to keep my apartment relatively Wayne stalker free." this time Bruce laughed.

"Will you come?"

"Why not? I get to get pretty and spend your money on a lavish and overpriced dress I'll wear once in my life."

* * *

Audrey wandered around the expensive dress shop, feeling the debit card in her back pocket like a gold brick. Sometimes she felt gazes burning through her jeans to the card, though nobody should be able to see it, unless they were slipping it out of her pocket.

She stopped and stood still for a few minutes, letting her gaze slide over the room to see if any of the colours fit her fancy. There were beautiful dresses all around her, but none of them really felt like her. She wouldn't wear a bright orange dress made of a single piece of satin. She wouldn't wear an aquamarine dress with a huge slit up the thigh. She couldn't wear a black dress with a cascading half skirt. She couldn't wear a yellow one with a gauzy yellow thing at the mid calf point because she'd look like a mermaid.

On a hunch, Audrey broke out of her pause and went to the discounted, discontinued dresses. More often than not, they were hideous things that should be burned, but had once been fashionable. They came in all array of colours, from deep maroon to pale pink, navy blue to light aquamarine.

Audrey ran her hands over the materials, just looking for something to possibly catch her eye.

It didn't take very long.

Her fingers went from a fluffy outdated dress from the eighties to a ruched, slick material. She zeroed in on the dress and pulled it from the rack, then held it up to inspect. The entire dress was made of satin, from the ruched top to the sash to the skirt. The torso and skirt were a light silvery colour, and the ruched sash a dark silver. Cut into the sweetheart neckline was a wide V that went several inches down and was covered by an intricate dark silver lace. Said lace was also holding the sash to the dress, with thin strips attached horizontally at the hip level.

Audrey was simply in awe.

It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she'd ever touched in her life, and she wanted it.

"Can I help you?" she jumped at the voice suddenly beside her, and looked at the thin girl beside her, who couldn't possibly be older than eighteen. She was short with long curly blonde hair and bright, childish blue eyes.

"How long do you think this will take to adjust for me?" the girl looked from the dress to Audrey's figure.

"Not long. I may be able to do it in store. Let's try it on."

**Here's a fantastical thought. What if Bruce kissed someone with the cowl on and it shocked the victim? **

**Muwahahahaha**


	9. Chapter 9

**Aaand I said I'd get it up today, didn't I? Anyway, the wifi is completely not working on my laptop right now, so updates might get a little more sporadic. **

**Precaution: Possibly some slight Ocness to Bruce in this chapter, but I virtually changed only grammar from the original story. It's basically fluff though, so it's okay.**

Audrey had locked herself in her room again, deciding to get dressed alone. That was, until she found out the dress required two people to get on. Groaning, she decided to call in the calvary. Unlocking the door, she stuck her head out. The memory of arguing with the aging man yesterday came to mind briefly, and she heard the voices in her head, him telling her to let him carry her suitcase and her refusing.

"Alfred?" his face came out of Bruce's door down the hall.

"Yes, Ms. Habicht?"

"Audrey, please. And I need help." Audrey frowned at a spot on the floor for a moment, then raised her gaze to his. He stepped all the way out of the room, and started toward her room. Once he was near, she opened the door for him to step in, then closed it behind him. The dress was laying on her bed, and she was standing there in her strapless black bra and underwear.

"This is a little awkward, sorry. But I need you to zip up the back and pin the top once I'm in." he nodded, and she held up the dress, then stepped in and pulled it up. His finger's gripped the zipper under the sash, then pulled it up while she held her hair away from the zipper. Once it was up, he clipped it, and she faced him.

"Thank you." Aflred gave Audrey a once over, and she blushed.

"You look beautiful, and you haven't done your hair or makeup yet." her blushed deepened.

"And that rosy colour just adds to the effect."

"So what should I do with my hair?" she questioned, trying to divert his attention. She gripped it behind her head and twisted it up into a knot. He shook his head and she dropped it, then pulled back the hair above her ears and held it. He shook his head and she let it go.

"Just leave it down, Miss. Your hair is naturally what so many women fry their hair to achieve." she smiled.

"You're sweet, Alfred."

"Alfred!" she laughed at Bruce calling him. Alfred chuckled.

"He still needs help getting dressed, like he's eight. I promise not to tell him anything about you."

"Thank you, again." Alfred nodded, and Audrey locked the door behind him, then turned to the vanity and looked at her face. She had an oval shaped face with olive toned skin, and somewhat dark freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, contrasting her icy blue eyes. Her nose was small and quaint, her lips average sized. The entire ensamble was framed by golden brown curls cascading down to below her bust, parted above her left eye.

After taking herself in, Audrey looked down at her makeup, and started light, applying foundation, then light, silvery eyeshadow. Next came a slightly darker silver for her crease. After blinking a few times to spread the colour, she pulled out her black eyeliner and attacked her upper and lower waterlines, then upper lash line, followed by mascara, on only the top. Then she turned to her array of lipsticks and chose a nude one, then looked at herself in the mirror and jumped. Simply put, she actually looked like a model, and like a sex goddess.

"Oh that's scary." as soon as Audrey opened her mouth, the illusion was shattered, transforming her into a more playful woman, unaware of her looks. She turned away from the mirror then and grabbed her black, shiny, open toed heels and slipped them on. After another second of debate, she grabbed an onyx black bangle, and a pair of black earrings.

"Audrey?" a knock sounded on her door and she jumped, then let out a nervous laugh.

"Are you ready?"

"I'll meet you downstairs." she called.

"Okay... since I know you didn't think about a coat, I have one for you." her eyes went wide.

"What does it look like?"

"Um..."

"It will match," Alfred assured her, "Midthigh, black, cotton. Ties around the waist." she let out a breath.

"Okay good. Head down, I'll be one more minute." Audrey stood by the door and surveyed herself in the mirror, then stepped up close to check her teeth for lipstick. Satisfied, she stepped back and unlocked the door. The carpet muffled her steps, luckily, until she reached the staircase. Her heels clicked the first flight until the landing, and then she rounded into view for the two men. She looked up from the ground sheepishly, her lips almost forming a frown. Bruce's mouth was hanging wide open as her gaze met his, and quickly her eyes flitted to Alfred's. The older man was grinning.

"Do I look funny?" she questioned, voice gruff with her insecurity. Alfred laughed.

"No, not at all. You look like an erotic goddess." she smiled sheepishly as she walked down the stairs.

"I'm grinning because of Master Wayne's expression." Audrey looked back at Bruce, who recovered his composure for the most part after his butler's words.

"This might be a problem." he muttered, leading Audrey to raise an eyebrow, and his eyes went wide as he thought of his words and what they could imply.

"No, no no no. I meant that we're going to an engagement party for one of the other millionaires in town, and you might outshine the bride." he handed her the coat, and she pulled it on, grinning as his eyes jumped from her figure during a look over to her face as she closed the jacket and tied it.

"I never want to see you wear that much makeup again." she pouted, and he gripped her around the waist.

"You look a lot like the women down in Entertainment, and they all look the same to me."

"Oh, so now I look like a copy?" he groaned.

"I just can't win with you." Audrey laughed, and Alfred grinned.

"It shatters the illusion." he commented.

"My thoughts exactly. Alfred, I'll bring him home sober, I swear." Alfred bowed at the waist.

"Enjoy your night." they moved out into the garage and Bruce, looking quite spiffy in a classic black tux, held open the door to the black Lamborghini. Audrey slid inside, then squealed at the completely reclined seat that she forgot about. Bruce laughed, and she smacked him, then sat the seat up.

"You should do that before you get out of the car next time."

"If you recall, we were arguing. I was paying attention to that." he backed out, and then sped down the driveway.

"So is the party in Gotham, or outside the city limits like Wayne Manor?"

"I believe it's inside the city limits. And the front gates are inside the city limits." she laughed.

"That so does not count." they bickered over whether it counted the entire ten minute drive into the city, where he pulled up in front of a large, glowing building, in a circular driveway.

"I'm getting out first, then I'll open your door."

"I can-"

"You don't want my stalkers following you too, right? If you open your door, that's a sign that you're not the typical guest." she frowned.

"What's my name then?"

"Christiana Belwick." this caused her to laugh again.

"You've thought this through." he grinned.

"Yes I have." the car came to a gentle stop, and then Bruce stepped out, taking a ticket from the valet, then walking around the front of the car and opening Audrey's door, then helping her out. He held out his elbow, and she took it, suppressing her smile. They stepped inside the doors, following another couple, and Audrey's jaw nearly dropped at the splendor inside the building. The floor was pure marble, along with columns stretching up to the ceiling, accompanied by the railings on the stairs and of the upper floor of a sandy coloured material, polished smooth. They went straight down the elegant stairs, and at the base stood a couple. The man was dressed like Bruce, in a classic black tuxedo, with curly black hair and warm gray eyes. The woman was another matter. She had pale skin, and striking black eyes, with dark, straight brown hair and thin eyebrows. Audrey knew only one name for her. _The Most Beautiful Woman in the city._ She'd been dubbed the most beautiful in Gotham during a pageant, and had held that position for four years running.

Audrey could not see how she and the woman were even comparable.

"Bruce!" the man greeted, laughing, then shaking Bruce's hand warmly.

"I'm glad you could make it. And who is your lovely date this night? Not any Russian ballerina again?" the man's gaze actually slid over to Audrey now, and his eyes went wide. Audrey smiled kindly.

"Christiana Belwick, and a friend. Christiana, this is George Habicht, and his fiancee Olivia Gilder." Audrey locked gazes with George.

"Habicht? Are you related to the woman all over the news?" she questioned, referring to herself. She herself had no idea.

"Ah, yes. She's my sister's girl. Unaware of her relations, I think."

"Interesting." Bruce tugged her off to the side, then gave her a look.

"What? I didn't know I had an uncle."

"You have a _wealthy _uncle. How could you have not known?"

"My parents were too busy fighting with eachother to talk to me, let alone take me anywhere. I may have met him when I was young, but not since I was ten." she shrugged, and he rolled his eyes.

"Do you need to go get acquainted?"

"Not right now. Nooo. However, that woman is the same age as us, and he's got to be forty plus."

"That's what wealth can do." he patted her shoulder, and she frowned.

"Champagne?" Bruce grabbed two glasses, then handed Audrey one. She eyed it.

"Alcohol is poison." he laughed.

"There's an art to pretending to drink it. Watch and learn." he held his glass low, and she watched him set it down and grab someone's near empty glass without disturbing either one, then turning and coming back. She giggled.

"Impressive, Mr. Wayne. So you don't drink either?"

"No. A glass here and there if I'm in a conversation." she smiled coyly.

"Then I don't have to worry about you getting drunk. Pity, I wanted to drive the car back." she set her glass down on a table, then started walking away.

"That's uncreative." Bruce's voice teased as he attempted to follow Audrey, only to be approached. She disappeared quickly into the masses, flitting around people. A couple of minutes later, a smooth voice stopped her.

"Well, you're a rare beauty." she turned to face the man looking at her, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, and a blush makes you only more beautiful. I have to know your name." he stepped closer to her so she could hear better, and she looked him over quickly. It seemed all the men in attendance were wearing a classic tuxedo, and the women were doing the distinguishing. He had short blonde hair and a quaint goatee, with dancing blue eyes and a square jaw.

"Christiana Belwick."

"Well, Miss Christiana, I believe the dances will be starting soon. Could I have the pleasure of having you be my first partner?" Audrey glanced around, locating Bruce. He locked eyes with her for a moment, then looked at the man beside her and held up a finger. She returned her gaze to the man, smiling apologetically.

"It appears my partner found me again and is heading this way."

"We can always hide." she laughed quietly.

"While that would be fun, he might get mad at me." she confessed. A hand touched her elbow, then slid around her waist.

"Found you." Bruce murmured not so quietly, then pulled her into his side. Audrey looked at him, glad to have been saved, but somewhat confused as to why he was so touchy feely.

"Because I'm so hard to find." she covered her confusion with the teasing statement easily. Bruce looked to the man.

"My apologies, Mr. Ericson, but the first dance belongs to me."

"Perhaps the second dance, then."

"We'll see." the man departed, and Bruce twisted Audrey so they were face to face.

"You are going to get kidnapped and raped at the rate you're going." her jaw dropped, and his expression didn't waver. His mouth was flat, though Audrey still had to force herself not to stare, and his eyes were grave.

"Seriously?"

"Maybe. We may be wealthy, but too many of us are just looking for sex. Stay away from people you don't know, unless I'm with you."

"He approached me!" she muttered, somewhat irate for receiving the blame.

"I know. But please be careful." she rolled her eyes, and tapping sounded on a microphone.

"And now, we escape."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a terrible dancer, and I don't think you want to be subjected to that." she laughed, then let him drag her away to some back room.

"This is an odd engagement party. Dancing?" she commented, sitting down on a couch in the sitting room. Bruce sat beside her.

"George is a quirky guy. While the first dance might be formal, the second might be Irish dancing." she grinned

"I like him already."

"You would. You're a lot alike." Audrey rested her head back against the back of the couch, and Bruce looked at her.

"Something wrong?"

"I'll live."

"Did you sleep?" she laughed.

"No. Are you kidding me? I spent all night planning exactly how I would do my makeup, then how I would hide from you, then wondering how this was going to go." she closed her eyes. Before Audrey knew it, there was shrieks coming from the main room, and her eyes snapped open. Lifting her head up, she let a groan go at the soreness from holding that position, and decided she'd been sleeping for at least an hour. She stood up and smoothed her dress, then stepped quietly into the main room.

"Catch the animals!" some man yelled. Audrey struggled for a view, too short to see over any of the men in the room. Muttering, she moved to the main staircase. The crowd parted before her, and she had about two seconds to assess the situation before crouching and scooping up the scared kitten with one hand, and holding out her other hand to stop the large German shepherd mix chasing it. The kitten's eyes were wide, ears swiveling around, snow white fur on end. The German shepherd mix skidded to a halt, then sniffed her hand curiously, watching the cat as it did so.

"Sit down." Audrey commanded. The dog did so, and she lifted her second hand up to cradle the kitten more fully. George Habicht came to a halt in front of her beside the dog, then offered her a smile.

"Christiana. Thank you."

"Who brought them?"

"Someone who probably wasn't invited. Does anyone want a free kitten?" he called. Laughter followed his question, and an older woman parted the crowd.

"I'll take the kitten." Audrey handed her over, and the elderly woman cooed to the baby animal.

"And the dog?" George called. Audrey held her hand out to the dog, who sniffed the appendage again, then butted her hand. She laughed quietly.

"I kind of want the dog."

"I'll have someone fetch a collar and leash." she smiled at George.

"Thank you. I just hope Bruce doesn't mind."

"Why would he?"

"I'm staying at his house for a few days." George laughed.

"I'm sure Alfred will have a field day with him." George responded. Audrey guided the dog back through the crowd to the edge of the room, then sat down on a bench and pet it.

"Whose a cute doggy? You are. Yes you are." she cooed, throwing on a voice one would use to praise a young child. The dog was of large size, sturdily built with the markings of a Rottweiler, but the build of a German shepherd for the most part, with a slightly rounder face and floppy ears.

"That's precious." someone commented. Audrey glanced up at Olivia Gilder, bending over to pet the dog. Audrey smiled slightly.

"He seems sweet."

"Thank you for catching him. It would have been bad if one of the men decided to kick him to stop him." Audrey nodded, while Olivia sat beside her.

"You came with Bruce?"

"Yes." Olivia laughed, a clear and bright sound, then looked at Audrey, eyes full of warmth.

"Why so stiff! We're the same age, and it's not like I'm like these people.. I enjoy being stupid as much as the next girl." Audrey laughed.

"That's good then." they both pet the dog, who was soaking up the attention.

"What are you going to name him?"

"I was thinking along the lines of Ace or something."

"Fitting. You look like an Ace, don't you?" Olivia dropped her face down to equal level with the dog, who promptly licked her. Olivia laughed and sat back up.

"Au- Christiana?" both women looked up at Bruce.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have the dog?"

"Because I opted to take it home." he frowned.

"I am no-"

"I'll take it home with me after I finish visiting, but I'm keeping Ace."

"We really need to-"

"Okay, I'll just walk back now then. Olivia, it was great meeting you, and tell George goodbye for me." someone approached with a black collar and black leather leash, and she thanked them, then buckled and loosened the collar onto Ace's neck and attached the leash.

"Let's go buddy."

"I'm not going to let you walk home, but the dog is not getting in the Lamborghini."


	10. Chapter 10

**Look look! The interwebs works at my father's house! xD**

**I don't particularly like the middle of this chapter, but it'll have to do.**

Audrey was home alone on Sunday, due to Bruce having to go to an emergency meeting with someone, and Alfred grocery shopping. So, after showering and cleaning her makeup off, then properly storing her dress, she grabbed her iPod and turned it all the way up, then blasted Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. She ran out of her room singing, Ace skidding after her.

"_Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me._" she slid to the stair cause and paused on the top step, throwing her hands out dramatically.

"_Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun, but now I've gone and thrown it all away. Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry. If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters._" she went down a few steps, her hands falling to her chest, clutching at her heart.

"_Too late, my time has come, sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, ev'rybody, I've got to go. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth. Mama, ooh, I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all._" she ran down the rest of the stairs, Ace scampering after her as she slid across the marble floor. She ducked into another room, then dropped to her knees, air guitarring for twenty seven seconds, then dropping her hands to the carpet and staring at the dog, staring at her.

"_I see a little silhouette of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very fright'ning me!_" She scrambled to her feet, and raced into the kitchen, singing loudly as she went and alternating high, low, high, low, low voices; "_Galileo. Galileo. Galileo. Galileo figaro!_" she fell into a short fall on _figaro_ then spun around a pole in the kitchen and flew into a sitting room.

"_Magnifico~_" was the major fall, followed swiftly by; "_I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me. He's just a poor boy from a poor family, spare him his life from this monstrosity!_" she fled that room back up onto the stairs, Ace now deciding this was a game.

"_Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?_" she questioned, then rose up two steps.

"_Bismillah! No, we will not let you go!_" she sang down low.

"_Let him go!_" she sang up high, repeating the first phrase twice more and the second once.

"_Let me go. Will not let you go. Let me go. Will not let you go. Let me go._" she alternated high, low, high, low, high, rising a step for each phrase.

"_No, no, no, no, no, no, no._" she raced to the top, Ace back in sight.

"_Oh mama mia, mama mia. Mama mia, let me go. Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!_" her voice soared upward, hitting the scathingly high note well. She rocked out on the guitar again, then fled Ace.

"_So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye? So you think you can love me and leave me to die? Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby, just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here._" she continued rocking out, fleeing down to Bruce's room during the piano break and sliding from the carpet back onto a brief section of marble and out the glass French doors, slamming them behind her for Ace to run into.

"_Nothing really matters, anyone can see. Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me. Any way the wind blows._" Ace slammed into the door after the last phrase, and spittle covered the area where first his nose, then his mouth came into contact. He fell back on his rump, thoroughly confused, and Audrey laughed, then pulled her headphones out.

"Bet you thought there wasn't glass there." then she noticed a pair of feet in her view, and looked up to find Bruce smirking beside the dog, holding up his phone with a video of her running around singing paused. Her jaw dropped.

"How the hell did you get that without me seeing you?"

"Your eyes were closed half the time. You are going to clean that, right?" he gestured to the spit mark.

"Only if you delete that."

"I think not." he saved it, and she frowned.

"Fine then. I'm going to leave that slobber there forever."

"I _can _clean windows myself." her frowned deepened, and she turned around, looking out across the property, only to see a wall of hazy white headed straight for the house. Her eyes went wide and she turned back around.

"Open the door."

"Why?" she pointed behind her, and he yanked the doors open, pulling her inside them slamming them in time for the wall of snow to slam into the doors. They trembled with the wind behind their combined weight leaning against them, and Audrey's hands fumbled behind her as she reached for the lock, then flipped it. Ace barked, and she dropped down to her knees to scratch his head.

"Sorry for making you bonk your head on the door babe." she murmured to the dog.

"I didn't hear about a storm today." Bruce muttered.

"There is such a thing as spontaneous storm cells." she stood up and patted his chest. He trapped her quickly in his arms, and she giggled, squirming.

"I know that."

"Master Wayne, I think you should come take a look at the television." Bruce released Audrey and followed Alfred down to the first floor, Audrey at his heels with Ace following her. They spun out into what could be called the living room, and Audrey leaned against a chair, watching the weather forecast. The storm cell above them now, was huge, perhaps several miles across.

"This could continue for some time, Master Wayne. It may knock out the power."

"We have generators for that." Bruce responded.

"Unfortunately, you have not repurchased generators after rebuilding the manor." this gave Bruce cause for pause, while Audrey smiled.

"I can do power outage."

"You can do?" Alfred questioned both her wording and her meaning. She laughed.

"I mean, I can cook and survive a power outage. They're common in the city during bad weather."

"Well then, we may live past this storm, Alfred."

"Yes, it's a good thing the company you keep are commoners, no offense to our present company."

"None taken. Commoner is a step up from my last position." she patted Ace's head by her hip absently.

"What was that?"

"Keep this on through the night. If I wake up, I want to check it." Audrey decidedly ignored Bruce's question.

* * *

The bed creaking made Audrey's mind return from the deep of sleep, and she pulled the covers up to her chin.

"Bruce, now really is not the time for an update." she muttered, referring to his several visits early into the night for just that reason. High, maniacal laughter sounded, and a scream escaped Audrey's lips before she could help it. After a second, she cut it off, regaining her senses. Ace growled at her side as she shoved away from Joker, sitting on the foot of her bed.

"So you are in a relationship with Bruce Wayne? Someone should alert Batman." he stage whispered. Ace stood up, growling deepening in pitch.

"I'm only here to warn you that you're not quite safe, no matter how much you think you are. Ow! That tickles!" Ace's growl was slightly muffled by Joker's arm, which Ace's teeth were embedded in. A loud and painful crack sounded, and Ace's growls were clear again, while Joker disappeared out the window and into the snowstorm. Audrey's heart was pounding, and the only rational thought she could form was to grab Ace. She groped for his collar, sitting up and pulling him toward her. He collapsed onto her lap, and she leaned over him, burying her face in his fur.

"Audrey?!" her door slammed open and the light flicked on.

"What happened?" Bruce sat on the bed beside her, hand on her back.

"He was- he- he- he- he wa-"

"Slow down. Deep breaths." she took three deep breaths, then lifted herself up, heart still pounding as she looked at the window, wide open. Bruce followed her gaze, then got up and closed the window.

"Joker was in here. On the bed. Ace- A- Ace bit him and- an- and he left." Bruce looked from the blood stain on the sheet to Ace to Audrey. He locked the window and drew the curtains, then held out his hand.

"Come on."

"Where?" Audrey wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Her thoughts were flitting around in random directions and all she really felt was scared and paranoid. She couldn't form a complete sentence well, and moving was out of the question without intense concentration.

"You're sleeping with me."

"Ace?"

"He can come. You finally have a reason to keep the dog." she couldn't muster the emotion to laugh at his lame joke, instead slowly reaching her hand out. He took hers softly in his own, then pulled her off the bed. Ace scampered down the hall after them and sat down by the bed. Audrey got under the covers while Bruce checked all of the windows and pulled the curtains, then joined her. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her toward him, head resting just behind hers.

"Your heart is racing."

"Tell me about it." she muttered.

"Well now we know what scares you." she scooted back so his chest was to her back, his legs fitting like jigsaw pieces into hers.

"He's not getting in again. Go back to sleep." reluctantly, she closed her eyes, and he gripped her hand in his.

* * *

Audrey woke up the next morning to knocking sounding on the door.

"Master Wayne?" her eyes flickered open, and she picked her head up, looking at Alfred. She gave him a sleepy smile.

"Hey Alfred."

"I heard a scream last night, Audrey. Did something happen?" she nodded.

"Sort of. It'll probably be brought up again." Bruce pulled her back down, and she laughed.

"Master Wayne, it's past time to be up. The power went last night, but I'd say it's about ten in the morning." Alfred called, much louder.

"Ten?" Bruce questioned.

"Yes, ten. I've already called Mr. Fox and told 'im that you'll both not be coming in."

"Why not? Late is better than not at all." Audrey questioned, forcibly sitting up.

"I'm afraid there will be no getting any of the cars out. There is three feet of snow around the house and all of the cars are luxury." Audrey made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a snort, and Bruce sat up, looking at her.

"Are you laughing at my cars?"

"Yeah. Get a real car sometime, would you?"

"A real car?"

"You know, Ford Explorer. Jeep. Some SUV or something that can handle snow." she climbed out of bed and tapped Ace's head, waking him up, as she passed.

"If I may, what happened last night?" Bruce got up and stretched upwardly, then dropped into pushup position and started doing exactly that. Audrey rolled her eyes and faced Alfred.

"Uh, Joker got into my room last night and freaked me out. Warned me that I'm 'not quite safe, now matter how much you think you are.'"

"Obviously, if he could get in your room during a snow storm, you aren't."

"Obviously." she muttered, then stood up and stretched.

"Have you opened the fridge at all?" she questioned.

"No."

"Good, don't. We can get some snow to cool it down in a few hours, but it's cold enough that it should last a while."

"I've started a fire in the fireplace."

"Oh that sounds good. C'mon Ace, let's leave Bruce to be a body builder." she followed Alfred downstairs, then sat down on the couch.

"Did Joker injure you?"

"No. Ace bit him though, and he hit Ace. There's blood on the sheets, sorry. I can wash them when the power comes back." she scratched Ace's head, watching the flickering fire.

"Are you cold?"

"No. Alfred, take care of yourself too, alright? I'm a commoner. If I need something, I know where to find it."

"Alright then. I'm getting a blanket. Pardon me a moment." he left, and she dropped down onto the floor, then scooted up to the fireplace and watched flames dance on logs, like exotic Indian dancers in her mind. Ace nuzzled her arm, and she wrapped the appendage around the dog, then rested her head on the dog's. Alfred came back and sat on a chair, wrapped like a sausage in a blanket. Audrey grinned at him, then cracked her knuckles and scratched behind Ace's ear.

"We'll go romp in the snow in a little bit, okay?" she questioned the dog. Ace yipped, and Alfred laughed.

"Like he can understand you, isn't it?" Audrey nodded.

"He's a babe."

A few hours later, Audrey stood by the back door and looked out at the lightly falling snow. Night was falling, the sun burning red on the horizon and turning the snow a fiery orange colour. She had on her new boots and two pairs of skinny jeans, then an old coat of Alfred's. Ace was panting beside her, fogging up the glass door. Her hand lighted the handle, and Ace jumped onto his back paws, resting his front paws on her hand. She pressed down and pulled back, opening the door. Ace jumped the barrier of snow and disappeared quickly. Audrey looked down at the several old towels placed under her feet, then jumped over the wall as well and closed the door behind her. While Ace created tunnels under the snow, she watched the sun set, turning the sky vibrant colours that weren't often seen, like russet orange and lavender.

Audrey rubbed her biceps while watching the sun, and suddenly was struck with odd memory from her childhood.

_Audrey watched the fluffy pink and purple clouds floating just above the setting sun, rubbing her arms to warm herself up. Her friend Melissa had informed her that tonight was supposed to be a beautiful sunset, and Audrey had promptly escaped outside when she got home. Behind and below her, however, she could hear shouting in the apartment. While the roof was certainly uninviting, being inside was worse. Her parents fought day in and day out about everything they could, often bringing an unwilling Audrey into the argument. And so, for one day, she sought refuge on the roof, watching the sunset of a world foreign to her, a sad piano song playing in her memories. _

Audrey's hands dropped to her side as she stood hip deep in snow. Even memories of her parents had to be remembered fondly, despite how horrible they were at the occurring moment. With Audrey's lucky lot in life, her parents happened to die on the same day as the aforementioned memory, several years later. Great birthdays, huh?

Closing her eyes, Audrey trudged through the snow to a buried wall she could see poking out of the snow, which she dusted off then sat on. Ace jumped up beside her, and she scratched his nose.

Inside, Alfred and Bruce watched Audrey's lively movements turn slow. Bruce's hand touched the door handle, and Alfred laid his hand over Bruce's.

"We best leave her." the old gentleman advised. Bruce looked at his lifelong friend and butler, who seemed much too wise for his years.

"She puts on a convincing face around people, but right now, whatever she's feeling, it is something she needs to feel alone. Bottled emotions lead to drastic measures like Batman." Alfred turned to walk away, and Bruce called after him.

"She's so open about her feelings. How do you know she's bottling them?"

"Master Wayne, she's protecting you. Eventually, fear and reality settle in, and with her recent life, she shouldn't be quite happy. She doesn't want you to worry about her." Alfred paused in his walking and speech, at the doorway to his room.

"Give her five minutes, and then go out. If anything, she's remembering something and will share it when given appropriate time." his door shut, and Bruce looked back out the door at Audrey, who was hugging Ace to her like he was a lifeline. Some six minutes later, Bruce opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him, then approaching Audrey and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She jumped slightly.

"What happened to not coming out?" she questioned, voice sounding normal enough, almost bouncy.

"Could you just stop pretending for another ten minutes and feel what you really feel?" Audrey closed her eyes and leaned back against him, salty tears still streaking down her dry face.


	11. Chapter 11

**This is a lot of fluff too, I think. And the internet is still not working on my own laptop, in addition to soccer season and my tellatards, so updates might get a little sporadic. Sorry!**

Audrey woke up the next morning curled up on top of Bruce, under three different blankets and on the couch by the still hot fire. Alfred was stretched out on a chair with a hassock pulled up to bear his legs. However, the noise that woke Audrey was the phone ringing. Frowning, she wiped excess tears off her face, then got up and crossed the room.

"Hello?" she whispered into the receiver.

"_I assume you and Mr. Wayne will not be joining us today either?_" Fox questioned. Audrey looked out the back doors.

"Mayhaps. We shoveled the driveway yesterday, so we may be able to get out. Sorry about the late time – what time is it? - the power is still out."

"_I'll expect you both in an hour and a half, Ms. Habicht._" she nodded, then realized he couldn't hear a nod.

"Yes sir." he hung up, and she followed suit, then stole a blanket off of Bruce and waddled out the front door to survey the snow on the driveway. After deeming it only an inch, she headed back in, then cradled Ace's head in her hands and whispered; "Yip." he yipped loudly, and startled master and butler alike sat up straight. She smiled madly.

"Since we can get out of the driveway, we're going to work. I'm going to take an ice cold shower and get ready." she patted Ace's head, then ran upstairs to get a pair of beige work pants and a flowy purple top with a scoop neck. After second thought, she grabbed a white camisole, then dashed to the bathroom and locked the door behind her, then lit the candles inside and started the freezing water.

Half a freezing hour later, Audrey was ready to go, hair pulled back into a tight bun so it wouldn't drip all over her. Once downstairs, she faced Alfred, as Bruce was still getting ready.

"Which car can handle the snow best?" Alfred paused.

"If we load the back of the Lamborghini with salt it should do okay."

"Well then, let's do this." they headed out into the garage and loaded the trunk of the Lamborghini with several heavy bags of road salt. Once finished, Audrey headed back in and grabbed an apple to devour while waiting for Bruce, who joined them ten minutes later. She grinned giddily at him and held up the keys.

"The Lamborghini?"

"I'm driving." she wiggled her eyebrows, and he frowned but followed her out to the car. She pitched the apple core, then slid into the driver's seat and tossed her purse in the back. She adjusted the mirrors quickly, then kicked the car into reverse and pulled out, then turned around, grinning.

"I like this car."

"You cannot have it." she laughed, driving down the long driveway into the city.

"Why not?"

"Because it's one of my favourite cars?" she pouted playfully.

"Fine. I don't drive anywhere anyway." the car purred under her foot as she pressed on the gas, and it shot down the road, leaving Audrey to laugh maniacally while Bruce tried not to die. He directed her to the tower and through the parking garage. As they entered the building, her phone dinged, and she pulled it out to check the text.

_**Super important meeting in 5. Better hurry your skinny white ass up here. 29 - 7**_

Audrey frowned slightly, then pulled her hand out of Bruce's.

"Something wrong?"

"You've got a meeting in five minutes." he cursed.

"There's a folder on my desk-"

"If it's a real folder this time, I'll get it. Floor twenty nine, room seven." she moved for the employee elevator, and he pulled her back toward him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She turned red, and he grinned, then disappeared into the elevator. Muttering, she turned and stepped into the employee elevator, then hit floor thirty.

Stepping out of the elevator, the first thing she noted was the lack of human beings in the office. Where the floor was usually crowded, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Vaguely she wondered if Bruce knew something was going to happen again, and walked quickly back towards his office, then grabbed the manila folder on his desk. She looked out the large wall of windows at the window where Joker had been, spotting a potentially bloody painted on smile. Despite herself, panic spiked in her system, and she turned on her heel, heading out of the room. She grabbed the deck of cards on her desk to look through while at the meeting. _He's playing cat and mouse now. And like hell am I going to let him win._

Audrey stepped into the elevator and it raced upward, getting her into the meeting two minutes late. She set the folder down in front of Bruce, then leaned back against the wall and opened the card box. Inside, were fifty two joker cards. Absently, she did the math on that, finding twenty six separate boxes of cards. Her eyes wandered from the deck in her hands around the room, taking note of the video camera in the corner. Only upon seeing that did her mind come back to reality as she focused on what they were saying.

"It's just too dangerous right now to have anyone leaving the city." one department head was pointing out.

"Are you kidding? It's too dangerous to stay in the city with the Joker back!"

"Let's get back on topic." Bruce laced his fingers together, manila folder open in front of him. He glanced down at the document.

"The police department has asked us not to bring in this particular item right now, because if it fell in the hands of the Joker-"

"Or Batman." someone muttered. Bruce continued without pause, "it would be potentially disastrous. However, it could also be the thing that helps us get rid of him, if we can hold onto it."

"It's not worth the risk. Do you remember what happened last time with our microwave emitter?" another department head prompted. Audrey cringed. The microwave emitter had been a bit of a disaster, having caused the loss of the entire island of Arkham.

"I'll go get it myself. You can put the entire company into lock down until I get back."

"No one leaves or enters?" Fox questioned. Bruce nodded, and the room lapsed into silence as this was thought over. Audrey, however, had her eyes trained on the camera still, trying to figure out if it was recording.

"We'll put it to a vote. Those in favor of retrieving the weapon and bringing it back to Gotham?" about two hands went up.

"Those in favour of leaving it where it is?" another two hands. Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Okay... those in favour of sending Mr. Wayne to secure it, but keep it out of the city?" about a dozen hands went up, and Audrey let out a quiet breath.

"Then the building goes into lock down after he leaves." Fox got up and walked over the camera. Someone stepped behind it and hit a button.

"Hello, my name is Lucius Fox, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. In half an hour the entirety of Wayne Tower and it's affiliated buildings will be going into lock down. No one in, no one out, for..." Fox looked back at Bruce, who was standing up.

"About three days." Fox turned back to the camera, and Bruce joined Audrey.

"For three days. The only people who will remain inside are security. All security detail, please report to my office in fifteen minutes for a brief debriefing." Bruce stepped in front of Audrey, cutting off her view of Fox, and she raised her eyes to meet his.

"I'll have Alfred come pick you up."

"I could go back to my apartment, you know."

"Not an option. You do not leave the Manor while I'm gone unless Gordon calls for you." she pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, debating telling him off versus doing what he says. After a moment, she sighed.

"Fine. Just try not to, you know, get kidnapped or killed." he gave her a quirky smile, then moved to Fox's side and told him he was leaving, then did what he said. Jayden elbowed Audrey in the side after sidling up to her.

"What was that conversation about?"

"So have I told you that I'm living at Wayne Manor?" Audrey whispered back. Shock crossed Jayden's smooth chocolate brown complexion, replaced quickly by a full, toothy grin.

"Only for like, another week though. However, he was laying down the rules for his absence." Jayden smirked.

"We should have a wild party."

"Oh hell to the no. That'll get me murdered." _Figuratively and literally. _

* * *

Audrey waved to Alfred, winking, then grabbed the keys to the most inconspicuous car Bruce owned, the Rolls Royce, and stepped into the freezing cold garage. While the power was back up, the garage still didn't hold heat well.

She tugged her scarf tighter around her head, then slid into the driver's seat and adjusted everything.

"Remember!" Alfred called from the door to the house. She nodded at him, then waited for the garage to open. As soon as it had, she reversed out, then turned around and drove out of the gates. Scenery passed by and she watched it as she flipped into driving mode, three fourths of her attention on the road.

"Turn left in one mile." the voice from the radio told her. She snapped back to attention and did as it instructed, leading her all the way to the Habicht House. Audrey took a deep breath, then rolled up to the gate and rolled down the window.

"_Bruce!_" a voice called through a speaker. Audrey laughed.

"Not quite. I borrowed his car."

"_Christiana?_" she smiled devilishly.

"That is one name I am known by. My name is Audrey Habicht." there was a laugh on the other line, and then the gates started swinging open.

"_Leave it to you to fake out an entire party. Just park the car out front._" she rolled the window up and pulled through, then glanced at the clock.

"Just under an hour." she murmured, then pulled into the loop of a drive and parked. Her uncle came flying out of the house in a robe and bunny slippers, and she giggled as she got out of the car and was swept into a giant bear hug.

"I haven't seen you since you were tiny! Well, except for at my engagement." he took her hand and led up the steps to the front door, leaving her to attempt and lock the car on the way up. Once inside, she was assaulted by a heatwave, and started tearing off her winter clothing that Alfred demanded she wear.

"Just leave that all on a chair." she did as instructed, then was led back into a room with a fireplace. George sat down across from her in a lavish chair, and she sat down on the loveseat.

"So, you were pretending to be Christiana at my party. Why did you ask if we were related?" she smiled cheekily.

"I didn't actually know the answer myself. I was just curious."

"A true Habicht. So, tell me all about your life after..."

"My parents' deaths?"

"Yes, that."

"Well..."

* * *

"I've really got to go, Uncle George." Audrey pressed, picking her coat, scarf, hat and gloves up off the chair and pulling them all on. Her rather eccentric uncle was at the top of the stairs and sliding around in his fuzzy bunny slippers.

"Just a minute! I swear!" he called, running down the hall and into another room out of view. Fifteen seconds later, he came back out with a small black box in his hand. Down the steps he came, huffing and puffing until he stopped in front of Audrey and held the box out to her.

"You didn't get any of your mother's stuff at her funeral, so I got all of it. I believe you should have that now. Perhaps come back another time to pick through it?" she opened the box, then gasped at the engagement ring inside. The ring itself was a simple band with absolutely no tarnish or design on it, but the diamond was one karat, and crystal clear.

"I had it cleaned up."

"Oh it's beautiful."

"Technically, it wasn't your mom's or my mom's. I believe it was my grandmother's."

"How does that work?"

"If I remember the story correctly, the fiance would take the ring and propose with it." Audrey shook her head, smiling.

"We've got an odd family."

"For sure. Now, shoo!" she ran out the door to the car and unlocked it as she ran, then slid in the driver's door and shut it.

"You're late!" Alfred scolded when she shuffled inside. She glanced at the clock.

"Two minutes! Two minutes you old man!" she shouted back, stripping off her coat and other outdoor accessories. He looked her over, eyes stopping on the engagement on her left hand.

"Did you get engaged?!"

"No! It's a family ring my uncle gave me!"

"Put it on your other hand then! You'll give Master Wayne a heart attack!" she smiled devilishly and wagged her fingers in front of her face.

"Maybe that was my intention." she prompted. A small smile found it's way onto Alfred's face, and some of the red drained from his face.

"Then wait till he comes back. You'll give _me _a heart attack." she winked, then took her clothes and went upstairs to her room. Ace followed her, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and she knelt down after putting her stuff on her bed.

"You won't tell Bruce I left, will you? No you won't, because you're a good boy. Yes you are." Ace licked her, and she laughed, playing with his ears, then stood up and switched the ring onto her other hand. After a glance around, she flopped down on the bed and absently pet Ace while she thought.

Yes, wearing the ring on her ring finger would give Bruce a heart attack. However, she hadn't ever thought past the now of their relationship, and Joker. Where did she want this to go? With him being Batman, marriage was almost impossible, but she wasn't going to stay his girlfriend for the rest of their lives. And even so, did she want marriage? Did she love him? Did he love her? Had he thought about this either? Would he stop being Batman for her? Would she deal with Batman and Bruce together? Would they ever go public? Obviously Bruce didn't care, but did she? And what of Joker? He kept calling her Batman's girlfriend, but he knew she was Bruce's, sort of. What happened if Bruce ever kissed her while Batman? What would Joker do? Would he connect the dots?

Audrey groaned and pressed her palms to her temples as a throb built up. Ace whined, and she flipped onto her side, hugging the dog to her.

"Ace, I'm thinking too much. Make it stop!" she whined, snuggling into the dog.

**Oh that was actually somewhat germane! **


	12. Chapter 12

On day two of three of Bruce's absence, the call from Gordon came in for Batman and Habicht. Alfred instructed Audrey to take the Batmobile, and dress warmly. She pulled on a pair of thermal underwear Alfred bought her, then pulled on jeggings, thick socks, and tennis shoes. After hunting through her closet, she pulled on a cami, a long sleeved shirt, and then a sweatshirt. After pulling her hair up into a sloppy bun, she ran downstairs and hit the keys on the piano Alfred showed her. The wall opened up, and she stepped into the construction elevator. The wall closed and she plummeted downward, then stepped out on weak legs.

"Holy. Shit." she hissed as she wobbled out to the Batmobile and picked up the rock the keys were in, then opened the hatch and slid inside. After a moment of confusion, she hit a button on the fob and the vehicle started, roaring to life.

"Where to?"

"It's like you know I'm stupid." Audrey muttered, then added louder; "Gotham Police Department, or a nearby dark alley I can hide this thing in." the vehicle contemplated her request, then directed her out. She gripped the steering handles and pressed on the gas. The vehicle jumped to about sixty in a second and threw her forward and off the ramp out of the cave and through the waterfall guarding the entrance. She let out a squeal as she directed the vehicle the way it told her too, through the dark city and into a dark alleyway. As soon as it stopped, she let out a tense breath and opened the hatch.

"Oh my Jesus." she breathed, and climbed out. The hatch shut and locked behind her, and she pocketed the keys, then climbed on top of the vehicle and onto the fire escape. As soon as her head popped over the top, she called, "Gordon!" he swiveled around and looked at her, and she grinned.

"I thought you didn't have a car." she opened her mouth to respond, then closed it, then opened it again. Shaking her head, she finished climbing up onto the roof and dusted the snow off of herself.

"Batman is currently unavailable right now, so you'll have to make due with me."

"You're the one I needed, so that works. It might be better that he's not here. He seems a bit possessive." Audrey snorted.

"You have _no _idea. So what's up?"

"I have a plan to draw out Joker." Audrey put a finger to her lips and looked around.

"We should probably go inside then." he nodded, and opened the door, then gestured for her to go in first. She bowed, smiling, then walked inside and down the stairs to the third floor.

"Aren't you the commissioner now, Gordon? Don't you have your own office?"

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his head with a slight smile, "I still prefer being here." she leaned back against a wall, and he stood beside her.

"Joker knows what we thought he was going to do next."

"Yeah." she confirmed, "And he knows where I'm staying, so he could attack at any time." Gordon stroked his mustache.

"What rules has Batman given you?" she pursed her lips.

"Right now, I'm not supposed to leave the place I'm staying at unless you call me. I've already broken that and didn't die. I don't think there is anything else other than that." Gordon closed his eyes in thought, and Audrey briefly thought about how old he looked, despite being no older than forty five.

"I won't put my friends in danger." she decided. He nodded, then continued stroking his beard. Audrey gave a quirky smile, which he barely caught as he opened his eyes.

"What?" she grinned.

"Nothing. You just reminded me of my father when I was really little. It's okay, you're not that old." she cooed. He chuckled.

"So, uh, why don't I just go walk around town sometime and have you tail me in a non cop car?"

"Tail you inconspicuously?"

"Well, I don't care if I see you. We just don't want other people to know."

"Do we want Batman to know?" she pursed her lips, then nodded slowly.

"If we don't let him know, he'll be A, pissed, B not inconspicuous, and C, much more dangerous." Gordon patted her head, and she swatted his hand away.

"You're a smart kid."

"There was nothing smart about that plan, and I'm not a kid."

"You're smart enough to know how Batman will react. I can't even predict that." Audrey snorted, "You're also twenty years younger than me. You're a kid." she stuck her tongue out at him, and headed for the door.

"Call me when you choose a d-"

"GORDON!" Audrey looked at Gordon, who pushed past her and down the stairs. She followed him, sneakers squeaking on the stairs, then spun onto the first floor, where one of the people in jail had an officer in a headlock through the bars, the officer's gun pressed to the officer's temple. The man smiled at Gordon as he slid into the room, and Audrey stood slightly behind Gordon, out of view.

"Let me out or I blow his head off." Audrey surveyed the entire cell, found it empty, then started her trek around to the door on the end of the cell. She tapped an officer on the shoulder, then whispered, "Let me in, then lock the door behind me." she continued on to the prison door, and he opened the door silently, allowing her in. She hugged the back wall until she was directly behind the man. In one swift movement, she slammed his head against the bars, stunning him, and yanked him backward, dropping the officer and the gun on the other side. The man grunted, and she kicked his feet out from under him, then sat on his back, arms pinned painfully behind him.

"Get the hell off me!"

"Why should I? You broke the law, you get no respect."

"Habicht, _get out of there_!" Gordon commanded. She looked up at him innocently.

"What?" she questioned, "I saved him, didn't I?"

"Habicht!" the man under her snickered.

"What is he, your old man?" she pulled up on his arms, much higher than she needed to, to pain him, and hissed, "He ain't old, and he ain't my old man. However, I'll still beat you the same if he was." the man under her whimpered, and someone tossed her handcuffs through the bars. She grabbed them with one hand, then kicked the man under her as she stood.

"Get up." he got up, and she cuffed both wrists, the chain going through the bar in the back of the cell, attaching him to the back wall. The officer at the end unlocked the door and she walked out, leading up to her getting a prompt smack upside the head. She frowned at Gordon, and he scowled at her.

"Don't do stupid things."

"Stupid is my middle name." she shot back. He smacked her again, and she stuck her tongue out.

"I'll lock you up overnight."

"Go ahead. Then explain what happened to me." Gordon looked like he was going to respond, then instead pushed her toward an empty cell. She started to saunter in, then paused.

"Actually, as much as I want to, I can't do this. My, um, ride is parked outside and it's not my car, for sure." Gordon frowned.

"Tomorrow night, you come down here." she grinned.

"Oh for sure. I'll get a ride down." she patted his shoulder, then walked out the front door and into the alley, popping the hatch and jumping inside. It closed over her, and she started the engine, then roared back to the waterfall and inside. The vehicle skidded and turned around, and she squeaked as the tail spun out. Once it stopped, she popped the hatch and got out, hiding the key.

"That was a marvelous parking job, Audrey." she jumped, then looked at Alfred, who was smirking. She frowned playfully.

"I can't drive large vehicles." she muttered, following him to the elevator.

"How did the meeting go?"

"Well. We were planning how to draw Joker out. I almost got locked in a cell overnight?"

"That would have been interesting for Master Wayne to come home to. May I ask why?"

"I subdued a rowdy criminal and Gordon got mad." she shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, "He smacked me too. Twice."

"You're still a child at heart, Audrey." she grinned.

"I knoooooow." she sang, dancing out of the elevator and to her room.

"Night Fred!"

* * *

Audrey ran down the marble stairs as soon as she heard the car in the driveway, sliding on the marble stairs in her socks. Alfred watched her, rather amused, as she slid across the floor into the kitchen, through, and onto the carpet leading to the garage. As soon as the door opened, she threw her arms around Bruce and hugged him hard. He simply laughed.

"Did you miss me?"

"It's been sooo boring. No offense, Alfred."

"None taken. However, now he gets to drive you to your appointment tonight." she pulled away from Bruce, resting back on her flat feet again, then stroked her imaginary goatee absently with her left hand, green apple twizzler in her right. Bruce grabbed her hand and held it up for inspection, looking at the ring, then back to her.

"What happened?" he demanded. Alfred chuckled quietly, and Audrey bust out laughing, doubling over with her hand still in his grasp.

"Audrey." she held up a finger as she continued laughing, and Alfred intervened.

"It's not what you think. She wanted to see how you would react."

"I'm reacting." he confirmed. Audrey straightened up, giggles still breaking through her otherwise calmer demeanor.

"Uncle George came to see you while you were gone, and we talked. He gave me the ring, which was my mother's mother's mother's. Or my great grandmother's. I just wanted to see what you would do if you thought I got engaged." he pulled her back into a hug, heart racing. She smiled into his freezing cold coat, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm going to bed, Master Wayne. Please escort Audrey to the police station." she turned red, and Bruce attempted to pull back to look at her. She held on tight, hiding her face in his coat.

"Audrey..."

"God you sound just like an overbearing parent." she moaned.

"What did you do?"

"Gordon called yesterday, I went down. We talked, some idiot threatened an officer. I subdued him, Gordon smacked me and threatened to lock me up. I told him to go ahead, and he told me to come back tonight."

"I'm not going to-"

"You can't do anything to stop me. I'll drive myself." Bruce sighed.

"Let's go." she grinned and released Bruce, who called Alfred back and handed over his black duffel, then took Audrey's hand and led her out to the Lamborghini.

"You have a thing for a black cars." she pointed out. He shot an incredulous look at her, and she gave him a blank look, then snorted after a second.

"Didn't think about that. Sorry."

"Am I going to need to pick you up in the morning?" he inquired as she slid into the car. She pressed her lips together in thought.

"Nah, it's Saturday. Maybe I'll walk back to my apartment or something. Check my mail." she knew he wouldn't let that happen, but said nothing, instead watching the darkening snow all around.

"Try not to beat up too many people tonight, okay?" she smiled to herself, but said nothing again. They rode in silence to the station, and Audrey tried to open the door, only to find it locked. She glanced out the windshield at Gordon, then looked at Bruce.

"You going to let me out?" she questioned. He looked at her, then cradled her jaw and kissed her softly. After a few brief moments of butterflies, she pulled back and rested her forehead on his.

"You don't trust me at all, do you." she questioned, a sly smile creeping onto her lips.

"I put most of those men in there. They're dangerous."

"And I'm so weak." she teased, giving a final kiss before reaching across his lap and unlocking the doors, sliding out, then shutting the door. She approached Gordon with a goofy grin at his disapproving look, and Bruce called behind her, "Audrey!" she looked back over her shoulder.

"What time am I picking you up?"

"I told you I'm going home first." she responded, then waved him off and turned to face Gordon again, who was still frowning with disapproval.

"You're dating Bruce Wayne?"

"What's it to you, pops?" she shot back, hands on her hips. Gordon just shook his head.

"He's going to break you like a toothpick." Audrey snorted.

"Nah. He won't do anything."

"How do you know?" Gordon questioned, heading inside with her.

"Because he lurvs me. If anything, you might want to be watching out for him. I'm the one that's going to get killed and break _his _heart." Gordon patted her back, then pushed her toward an occupied cell. She stumbled, then regained her balance and strutted toward the cell, with a tattooed thug sitting inside, glaring at the ground. She slid inside the open, guarded door, and the officer looked at her like she was crazy.

"Are you seriously going to do this?" the woman questioned. Audrey nodded, and the woman shook her head and locked the door. Audrey and the man looked at eachother, and he rose to his feet, towering over her at nearly six foot seven.

"You here to question me, dollface?" he questioned, cracking all of his knuckles with one movement. Her lips twitched, and she sat down on the bench.

"I don't think anyone has ever called me dollface before. And _bro_, I don't know who you are so I'm not going to question you." he took a step toward her, and the brief realization that he was a criminal flashed across her face. Instead of running to a far corner of the cell like she wanted to, she flashed him a smile.

"Do you want to play Never Have I Ever?" the big man gave her a confused look akin to one on a child's face when asked about sex. She patted the bench next to her and he sat down timidly.

"I'm bored and stuck in here all night, so either you play nice with me, or lose a form of human contact." she advised, then held up her right hand.

"Why should I care?" he questioned. She pursed her lips, then shrugged.

"Entertainment. It's better then staring at the floor." he nodded after a moment, and a bright grin broke out on her face as she began to explain the rules.

Unsurprisingly to Audrey, nearly two hours later, most of the officers and more than a few of the criminals were playing with her. It was Audrey's turn, and she was thinking hard on an odd, yet average thing.

"Okay. Never have I ever... sang in the shower." she decided. She watched a lot of the criminals turn bright red and slowly lower a finger.

"Goddammit!" someone in the back shouted, in another cell. Audrey giggled, then looked to the beefy criminal beside her, named Jeff.

"Never have I ever... sat in the backseat of a police cruiser." this caused a roar of laughter from almost the entire crowd around, as everyone in this room had at one time or another.

"Hey, it's closing in on one in the morning, Gordon. It's probably time to shut this game down." someone called. This was followed by a groan, and people got up to adjust back to their sleeping areas. Gordon stood up from his chair near Audrey's cell.

"I'll be upstairs." he said to an officer on duty, then turned and disappeared around the bend. Confused, Audrey looked at the officer, who interpreted her look and responded accordingly.

"He doesn't trust you." the officer shrugged, and Audrey rolled her eyes, stretching out on the bed attached to the wall.

Sleep only offered Audrey a two hour reprieve from her life that night. The aforementioned two hours later, the lights in the station flicked on, searing into Audrey's cornea through her eyelids. Her eyes snapped open and adjusted quickly, as she took in the scene of Joker in front of her cell, with a group of lackeys behind him, whispering quietly amongst themselves.

"My dear, why are we sleeping among the filth?" he questioned. Audrey pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Because Gordon and I got into a fight." she shrugged nonchalantly, then stood up and approached the bars.

"What do you want, Joker?"

"Well, now aren't we in quite the situation?" he almost sang, coming half a step closer to the bars, "For the city's saint is stuck behind bars, where she cannot protect anyone." a thick, hairy arm wrapped around Joker's throat, effectively cutting off his next words, if there were any to be heard.

"Ah ah!" he half sang, half cried, then held up his left hand. Inside his clenched fist, was something akin to a helicopter cyclic. His thumb was on a depressed red button, and Audrey knew exactly what he was holding.

"Gordon, detonator." she warned. Gordon neither relaxed nor tensed his arm, standing rigidly.

"Where is the bomb?" he questioned in a low voice, gruff from sleep. Joker laughed, and Audrey winced at the sound, recalling his last visit with her.

"Now why would I tell you that? Then you'll just call Batman. Wait! He's a fugitive!" Joker laughed again, and Audrey moved for the door of her cell.

"Now now, that wouldn't be wise, my dear." she stopped in place, and Joker nodded at Jeff, who stood up timidly and approached her. Her eyes narrowed, and she braced her feet apart, readying herself for an attack.

Audrey kept her gaze squarely on Jeff's, and he began to pout.

"Now." Joker snapped, causing Jeff's pout to disappear, going back to the blank slate, and she considered briefly that he was much, much stronger than her. Jeff took another step toward her, and she stepped onto the bed and shot around him, then gave a prep jump and grasped the bars with one hand and a top bunk with her other, then jumped and caught him in the shoulders hard with her feet, sending him stumbling forward.

"Don't fight, Audrey dearest. Remember who is in control." she spared a glance at Joker, only for Jeff to nail her hard in the left ribcage. Her breath caught and she stumbled backward, falling against the bars.

"I'm not quite sure..." she stopped to take a pained breath, "Who is actually in control." Joker gave a slight incline of the head, almost like he was looking down his nose at her. Jeff stepped forward and caught her around the throat, then lifted her precious inches off the ground easily, her back to the bars.

"Put her down." Gordon commanded. Joker cackled.

"He won't listen to you, Commissioner Gordon. The thugs of Gotham are still under my control." Audrey's stubby fingernails dug into Jeff's meaty hand, grasping her throat tightly.

Some strange words rasped through Audrey's constricting throat as panic set off her asthma and she began to thrash just a little harder. Add that to the quickly bruising ribcage, and Audrey was not going to last long. Jeff and her maintained eye contact for another short thirty seconds before he slammed her back against the bars. Her eyes flickered shut and she went completely limp in his grip. Joker's beginning of a cackle died off when Audrey didn't move again.

"You weren't supposed to kill her." he said rather pointedly, then mule kicked Gordon. The officer grunted and released Joker, who then produced a gun and haphazardly raised it and shot Jeff.

"Bam! That's how you do things, ladies." he waved the lackey's off, and they scampered to retrieve the keys to the cells, then releasing all of the jailed men awaiting their trials. The men ran out of the building like Olympic sprinters, and the Joker swung his gun to Gordon, who had recovered from his mule kick.

"You can go to your surrogate daughter once we're out of the building." he promised, then backed out swiftly. Gordon was at the cell door in seconds, pushing himself to the back and kneeling between Audrey and a pool of blood leaking from Jeff.

"Habicht?" he put two fingers under the corner of her jaw, then let out a tense breath.

"Gregory, get everybody out of this building, _now._" Gordon returned his attention to Audrey, lifting her up gently bridal style, then shuffling past Jeff's body and out the door. As the last officer scurried from the building, there was an explosion to be heard on a higher floor, and then the building came down on it's last two occupants.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry about the delay. No Internet still, and I had a game and we had to put a new mailbox and post up (way more work than it should've been).**

**And I totally just realised, but we are exactly halfway through this story now. :D**

* * *

Policemen and women outside the building watched in horror as their brand new station came tumbling down like a unbalanced Jenga tower. A few bricks blew outward, and most of the building collapsed in upon itself, in a fantastically slow manner. It would later be said that it seemed almost as if time and space itself slowed down to capture every horrific detail of the building's demise. Orange and yellow flames burst outward almost like a cloud from the third floor, where the bomb had been placed, and enveloped the building like a deathly halo. First came the roof, spewing the few hundred bricks that went outward, then wavering and collapsing inwardly into the ruined and burning third floor, beginning the domino effect of the collapse.

The fiery burst lit up buildings surrounding and every soul on the street, reflecting back from windows and wide, glassy eyes. All was silent among the citizens, only their breaths and the fire breaking the silence of the scene. Walls swayed slightly, loose bricks tumbling off them and onto the sidewalk or cars around that hadn't already been torched or crushed. Soon, all that was left was the skeletal structure of the building, a few charred and still burning beams and short brick walls. Shattered glass on the ground reflected back the building and the fire, and only once Gregory thought that the building looked somewhat like Gordon's large, rectangular glasses did he remember his superior inside.

"Call the fire department." he commanded loudly, voice breaking the silence and bringing the others back to reality hard.

"Did everyone get out?" someone else called. Roll call began while someone called the fire department. Gregory watched the flames another moment, then turned to the one taking count.

"Gordon and Audrey Habicht were still inside." he spoke up.

Four firetrucks and four ambulances reported to the scene. The battle with the fire waged for another three hours, just in time for the media to get wind of the bombing and to get to the scene. A substation within the city provided police to secure the scene and start taking reports.

Four hours after the explosion occurred, the search for Gordon, Audrey, and Jeff's body began. At four and a half hours, Audrey and Gordon were found, and both rushed to the nearest hospital.

* * *

The slow ascent to consciousness was not a kind one for Audrey. First came a wave of excruciating pain from her lower left ribcage and head, followed by less excruciating but still fairly painful pain from the rest of her body. Secondly came her ability to scream, which was exactly what she did next. Thirdly came the opening of the eyes and the full return to consciousness. A gloved hand was clamped over her mouth, muffling her ear shattering scream. There were bright lights that engulfed the ceiling in her unadjusted eyes, and the dark shapes of people looming over her, moving quickly. Slowly, her scream ended when she ran out of air, and her vision adjusted to compensate for the extreme amount of light in the room. The long rectangles of the lights and the holey, spotted ceiling panels came into focus. Her eyes fell downward, and connected with the doctor standing in front of her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, making her hurt more acutely than the first pain, though the pain was fading fast, and her breath was hitching and very uneven.

"Calm down, Ms. Habicht. You're experiencing a slightly delayed reaction. Do you know where you are?" she took a quick glance around the room, mainly seeing the heart monitor off to her right and the IV stand to her left.

"The hospital." her words hitched and fell along with her breath, which was slowly returning to normal.

"Do you remember what happened?" she blinked rapidly a few times, then closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

"Can you tell me, so we can confirm?" she wiggled her fingers one at a time, then rolled her shoulders, working her way down her body until she confirmed she wasn't broken or unfeeling anywhere.

"Ms. Habicht?"

"Joker came in. Had a dead man's switch. My cell mate for the night turned on me. Hit me in the ribs, choked me, knocked me out." the doctor nodded, looking down at his clipboard and scribbling something.

"Do you still feel any pain anywhere?"

"Not excessively. My ribs ache, and the back of my head aches." he nodded again, writing more.

"Your, uh, cell mate broke three ribs just above your left lung and heart. You have severe bruising at the base of your skull, and bruising all over your body." she scratched her head, then questioned, "What the hell happened after I blacked out?"

This question seemed to make the doctor rather uncomfortable, as he shifted his weight from foot to foot a few times, chewed on his lip twice, played with his mustache, and stared at his clipboard. Audrey watched with an amused smile.

"Commissioner Gordon evacuated the building, then went back for you. You two were the only ones to not make it out before the Joker blew the building." Audrey's smile dropped as her eyes widened.

"Is Gordon alright?"

"He has a fractured tibia and clavicle and severe bruising similar to your own from the weight of the building that collapsed on top of you, but he will be alright." Audrey let out a tense, painful, breath, and closed her eyes.

"When can I go see him?"

"When you are released, which should be in a day. We need to keep you for surveillance. However, you can start seeing visitors as soon as you're ready."

"Visitors? Who would want to see me?" the doctor chuckled quietly.

"I believe both Bruce Wayne and George Habicht are here to see you, as well as a woman named Jayden White."

"Hm. I guess I can deal with visitors. Hot damn what did you guys soup me up on? I feel great!" he chuckled again.

"Morphine." he explained, then left to give instructions to her visitors about their dos and don'ts. Five minutes later, a very flustered Bruce Wayne swung into the room on the door frame, crossing the floor in three large steps and gripping Audrey's hand tightly in his. Her slight smile disappeared again as she took in his disheveled appearance.

"How long have I been out?"

"Four days." was his breathless reply. Her eyes began to water with the threat of tears, and she blinked them away before wrapping her arms around his shoulders in an awkward sideways hug, and Bruce burying his face in her neck, arms tightly wrapped around her waist.

"Bruce, I-"

"Nobody could tell if you were going to be in a coma, if there was brain damage, if you were going to die, or if you were just unconscious." Audrey was having a hard time with believing this was actually Bruce's voice. Never in her life, had she heard of Bruce Wayne crying, nor seen tears fall, nor heard anguish in his voice.

"When Rachel died, I swore to myself I wouldn't lose anyone again. And yet I've managed to nearly lose you already."

"I'm not going to die, Bruce." he only tightened his grip on her and she closed her eyes, resting her chin on his shoulder. The stability of his body against hers comforted her still present delayed panic, and her worries about Gordon.

Lord knows how long they stayed like that, but after an hour, Audrey fell asleep. In another few hours, the pain started to come back, pulling her back to consciousness. She took a deep breath against Bruce's jacket, upon finding him still there, then grinned slightly.

"Bruce." he pulled back slightly, watching her face.

"Did I hurt you?" she snorted.

"No. However, I kind of think it's time for you to go." she glanced at the doorway, and the nurse standing there, who looked like she was going to swoon. When she realized the two were looking at her, she regained her composure quickly, with a slight red tinge to her cheeks.

"Visiting hours are over, Mr. Wayne. Ms. Habicht will be released tomorrow at noon." she announced. Bruce pressed a gentle kiss to Audrey's forehead, then released her.

"Later bro!" she called after him as he left. His laughter sounded the entire way down the hallway, and the nurse gave a sly smile.

"How long has that been going on?" she questioned, turning a knob on one of Audrey's IVs.

"The pain should be gone tomorrow, as long as you don't re-aggravate the injuries." she added. Audrey's mind, however, was in a different place now, as she tried to figure out exactly how long her and Bruce had been seeing eachother. Once she figured out the math, the realization hit her hard.

"It's only been about five weeks." she breathed.

"Really? It looks like you two are about to get married or something." Audrey felt the blood rush to her face at the comment.

"Yeah well, I guess living a life like mine kind of changes the rules." she shrugged, and frowned as the pain began to ebb away again.

"I would say. He's been in here all four days. I think he only went home to shower and change." Audrey made a face. The nurse leaned against the bed, and ran a hand through her chaotic, curly red hair. Her the stress of her job showed on her face in the countless lines, but a sign of soulful youth shone through at her next words.

"I remember when my husband and I were like that. Oh, it had to have been twenty five years ago at least. Right after we got married, I got into a car accident and broke oh let's see... my clavicle, one leg, one arm, and a few ribs. The look on his face when he came into the hospital room was indescribable. It was like the past twenty five years of love, before they even happened." she paused and returned her gaze to Audrey's.

"If that is what I think I saw in Mr. Wayne, then you don't ever let him go, even if it hasn't been two months yet." Audrey smiled at the woman, who checked the time.

"Oh shoot. My shift is over. Well, Ms. Audrey Habicht, I hope I don't ever see you again." Audrey laughed, and the nurse left, turning off the lights as she went. Audrey scooted down and stared at the speckled ceiling.

"_If that is what I think I saw in Mr. Wayne, then don't you ever let him go." _

_It's only been five weeks since we began dating._

_How long does it take for people to fall in love?_

_Man, we haven't even been out on a date yet, and I'm living with him!_

* * *

George Habicht and Audrey sat together in her room as noon drew near, discussing when she would come over for dinner instead of an impromptu visit. Audrey was off the morphine, but still hurting.

"So next Saturday?" he prompted. Audrey grinned and nodded.

"Good. Make sure you bring Bruce."

"Oh I dunno, that's asking a lot..." he pouted and she laughed.

"Ask him yourself. He's bound to be lurking outside. Right Bruce?" she called. His head appeared in the doorway.

"What?" George looked at Bruce.

"Would you like to accompany Audrey to dinner next Saturday at my house?" Bruce nodded, and then the clock struck twelve. Audrey was up and off the bed quickly, having changed into normal clothes earlier.

"Somebody is in a rush."

"I need to see Gordon." she explained, dodging past Bruce and down the hall to Gordon's room.

"Audrey!" she smiled as she slid into Gordon's room.

"Hi Gordon." he gave her a smile, laying in bed with a sling and a full leg cast.

"When do you get out?"

"Right now. I am, however, less mobile than you." she frowned.

"Thank you for going back for me."

"While that I'm happy about, we have a small problem."

"I figured." she commented, then turned to shoot an evil look at Bruce as he tried to enter the room.

"Get out, loser."

"What are you two talking about?" he questioned. She narrowed her eyes.

"Get out!" he raised his hands and backed out. Audrey turned to face Gordon.

"I'm immobile now. I can't help with tailing you." he frowned as he said this, then promptly started chewing on his mustache.

"Well, could our friendly, neighborhood bat tail me?"

"No, no. He needs to be watching from above. There's an officer I trust. His name is Gregory. He may be able to do the job."

"Alright. And actually, I just had a wonderful idea. My friend and I haven't had a movie night in a while. Could I use her?" Gordon barked out a laugh at her wording, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, you can. But she's got to be safe when Joker arrives."

"Oh, yeah. I've got this all planned out. Trust me. Now, you get better, sir, and thank you again for saving my life." she tapped his nose, then stood up off his bed.

"Later, padre."

"I'm not your father!" he called after her as she left the room. Bruce gave her an odd look, and she just smiled devilishly as they left.

"What was that about?"

"I'll tell you in the car. By the way-"

"Oh god."

"- Can we stop at my apartment?"

"Audrey-"

"Please! Please please please please please please please?"

"You're a child."

"Pweaseeeee Bwuce?" she stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. He averted his eyes carefully as they walked into the parking garage and toward the Lamborghini.

"Bwuuuuuccee."

"Then you tell me right now what you and Gordon were talking about." she paled at the thought and got into the car without words. When he didn't start the car, she sighed and leaned her head against the window.

"Uhm, when I said Gordon and I talked, I probably should've said plotted. We came up with a plan to draw Joker out, using me-"

"No."

"As bait and you don't get a say sir. We were going to have you and Gordon tail me while I went and did something, giving Joker a chance to strike. Since Gordon is broken, we're going to have someone else by the name of Gregory tail me. Jayden and I are going to see a movie, and I'll get her home, then walk back to my apartment."

"No." she faced him in her seat, eyes narrowed.

"I don't have to listen to you, Bruce. I'm staying with you now because I love you and you're terrified that I'm going to get myself killed. I do what you ask, because it makes you feel better. But right now, I can't do that. Joker is back and going to rip this city apart if we don't stop him. If you can think of a better plan, tell me. But I see no other way to do this right now; so either you work with me on this and be happy that you at least know my plans, or you don't and I do whatever comes next behind your back, which makes it all the more dangerous." Bruce just watched her, and she made sure to keep on her serious face. Bruce's head inclined and tilted slightly, like he was pensive for a few moments.

"Can I kiss you?" she frowned then.

"Changing the topic is not going to work."

"Answer the question."

"No, you-" Bruce being Bruce, completely disregarded her response and pressed his lips to hers, one hand low on her neck. Butterflies erupted in Audrey's stomach against her will, as she struggled to remain angry. Her hands came hard against his chest, but he didn't move.

"Bruce!" he gave her an inch of room to operate, barely.

"I'm trying to be mad at you and you're not cooperating!" he responded with a quirky half smile.

"I love you." she looked at him blankly for a moment, then opened her lips to say something. Then closed them. Then opened them.

"What?" she finally responded. He laughed.

"You didn't realize you said it, did you."

"I said it first?"

"Yes, you did. At the beginning of your rant." she felt the blood rush to her cheeks, leading Bruce to chuckle, then close the space again. After a moment, he pulled away, then started the car, smirking while Audrey looked out the window, still red as a tomato. The drive to her apartment was silent, as was the stair climb. Once inside, she set the pile of mail down on the counter, and began to sort through it. Bruce leaned against the door as she sorted.

"You've got a lot of DVDs."

"Jayden and I are addicted to watching movies. I haven't had a lot of time recently. Hey wait! It's a Thursday! You should be at work!"

"Shhh. Don't remind me."

"No! Go to work you loser." he gripped her around the waist, tugging her back into him.

"I don't want to." his breath ticked her cheek, and her face twitched.

"God, you're so spoiled. Some people actually need the money they get from work. You could pretend you need it."

"Mmm... Not right now. I don't feel like it." his lips graced her neck lightly, and shivers went down her spine. She let out a breath and leaned back against him, giving up resistance for now. His hands migrated from her waist to her lower abdomen and rested there. His lips worked their way upward to her jaw, and he nipped at her earlobe. She groaned and twisted in his grip, trying to turn around. He held her still and pulled her jacket off, exposing the bare skin of her back, uncovered by her camisole. He trailed kisses down her spine, and the shivers returned.

"Bruce." she whined. He released her, and she spun around, pressing hard against him as she found his lips. While her hands pressed against the hard planes of his torso, his found the hem of her camisole and traced upward, fingering the clasp of her bra, then paused and wrapped around the back as he pulled his lips from hers, resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you." she breathed.

"I don't want to hurt you." she sensed the unspoken words, and snorted.

"Doesn't mean you don't want to."

"You seemed to have no objections." he shot back. She rested her head against his chest and laughed quietly, the pain from his attacks beginning to register along her back and neck.


	14. Chapter 14

**Christ I'm sorry. I even knew this was coming up and I still didn't update early. I had a birthday party all weekend, my apologies for this lateness.**

**Another note. I absolutely love my reviews; guests and all. While your praise and input doesn't exactly inspire me to write more, it does help me fix what has been written, and I adore you all for it. So, thank you for sticking with me on this bumpy ride.**

Audrey had hot, salty tears in her eyes as she sat, staring at a wall in the Wayne Manor, wearing a rolled up camisole and running shorts. Alfred and Bruce were inspecting her, taking turns poking at bruises all over her body. The pain from the poking was almost unbearable, yet Audrey kept her composure, only a few silent tears leaking out. After Bruce and her had a mock fight, the pain meds wore off and even walking hurt. Bruce had not allowed her to dope up, so he and Alfred could get a clear picture of her condition. Alfred poked a bruise on a muscle connecting her neck and shoulder, and she was surprised at how little it hurt.

"That does not look like it came from the building." the butler pointed out. Audrey felt heat rise to her face, and Bruce chuckled behind her, poking another large bruise on the back of her leg. She winced.

"Well, other than the fact that you're black and blue, as long as you take your medicine, you can return to work. Take it easy, Miss Audrey." Bruce poked another bruise, and she turned around and smacked him before pulling her shirt down.

"Ow." she stuck her tongue out, then grabbed her pain meds and took the prescribed dose. After a few moments, she stood up, disguised her wince, then tried to hobble off. Bruce grabbed her around the waist and held her in place.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"The couch? To watch a movie or two?" he lifted her up over his shoulder, and she squealed.

"BRUCE! This is _so _not cool! I'm going to dump you!"

"Good luck."

"Alfred!" she squealed. The butler shook his head, smiling.

"I'm not getting in between you two. Master Wayne, I need to go on a grocery run. I'll be back in a few hours." Bruce raised his hand over his head and waved, then dropped Audrey on the couch and sat on her lap, stretching his legs out and resting his back against the arm.

"You are such a loser!" she shoved at him, "Get off!" he just grabbed the remote and surfed the movie channels nonchalantly, like there wasn't a woman yelling at him. Ace decided to come join the fun and sat on Bruce's lap, adding an extra seventy pounds to Bruce's two hundred. Audrey groaned and scratched behind Ace's ear as he licked her face.

"Hey babe. You should bite Bruce so he'll get off."

"Violent?"

"Me? Never." she took the remote out of his hands, and clicked on Mulan. Bruce groaned and she grinned, settling in against the back of the couch. On a whim, she also hit record, earning a second groan from Bruce and a playful yip from Ace at the strange noises Bruce was making.

Halfway through the movie, Audrey had given up supporting her own body and was resting her head on Bruce's chest, upper body tilted from it's formerly upright position.

By the time Mulan was awarded the emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword, Audrey was out cold. Alfred came in during the credits, and Bruce looked at him over the back of the couch.

"Come help, Master Wayne." Bruce kneed Ace off, then slowly shifted Audrey's head off of him and got up.

"Did she fall asleep?" Bruce shot a meaningful look at his butler, who held up his hands and started unpacking paper bags.

"Is she alright?"

"She seems fine, but we'll find out tomorrow." they were silent for a few minutes as they unpacked and trashed the bags, then began to put the food away.

"Are _you_ alright, Master Wayne?" Bruce was silent for a few more minutes.

"We'll find out."

* * *

Audrey found herself, for once, thankful for a ride to work. While on normal days she would complain about being pampered, and he would question if she wanted to walk. However, on this day, getting out of bed hurt on it's own, god forbid getting on the train and being jostled. Bruce droved with one hand, the other gripping hers and keeping her awake. An unfortunate side effect of her pain killers was drowsiness.

"Audrey." her eyes snapped open and she took in the entrance to the parking garage as Bruce drove in.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"I need something to take my mind off it when the meds wear off." Bruce parked in his VIP spot, and the two got out of the car, Audrey glad that she'd worn flats instead of heels. The pain turned out not to be the worst part. The worst part was all the stares she got. Some were pitying like she expected, but some where hateful, some were envious, and some were disgusted.

While Audrey stopped to go yell at a group of people in the envious category, Bruce nearly shoved her along, hand on the small of her back. She frowned at him.

"If you yell at them, you're giving them what they want."

"They're just jealous turds. How is that giving them what they want?"

"Because they want evidence that you're not their idea of my ideal woman." this gave her pause.

"_Am_ I your ideal woman? I should hope not." he stopped beside her, swinging around to face her.

"Would it make you happy if I said you were?" she scowled at him, and he smirked.

"No, you aren't. You're a little too ready to disobey commands, but I wouldn't have another other woman by my side." she put her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me? I think you're by my side, not the other way around. I'm definitely the dominant one in this relationship."

"That's what you think. Maybe I'm leading you the way I want without actually forcing you." she frowned at this, and he laid his left hand over her right on her hip, then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Then suddenly he was gone, bounding toward the elevators. She scowled.

"We're not done with this conversation!" she called, hobbling toward the elevators at her own painful pace. Bruce stood at the executive elevator, holding the door open for her. Once near, she shoved him inside, then hit the button for the employees.

"Audrey-"

"I am _not _riding with you, asshole." he gripped her wrist and pulled her inside just as the doors shut. She frowned at the floor the entire way up, and Bruce just rolled his eyes. It stopped, and she stepped out, walking in a beeline for her desk, past all the stares and glares. Bruce followed her, trying to keep a straight face at her attempt at indifference.

* * *

Audrey was lost in her thoughts as Bruce drove home that Friday, when she suddenly realized that her sentence was almost up. That only drove her even deeper into her current state of depression, if it could be called that. Perhaps depressed determination. She was trying to think of all the ways that they could catch Joker, if, and when, their bait idea failed. However, all she came up with was all the ways it could possibly fail. How he could maim her in her sleep when she moved back into her apartment. Then again, why hadn't he killed her yet, when she is at her weakest?

_Because he likes fighters. He won't kill me when I can't fight back because that sucks all the sadistic joy out of it. _

Fingers snapped in front of her eyes and she blinked hard, crashing back down to the present. Bruce gave her a tense, worried look, and she gave him a grin.

"My sentence is almost up." this turned his grin into a scowl, and she laughed, getting out of the car and walking into the house. Immediately she dropped her purse on the carpet and took off her shoes, then slid into the kitchen and prepped for hot chocolate. Bruce followed her in and sat on a bar stool, watching her every move.

"Do you-"

"We've been over this a hundred times in three days." she stopped him, a warning tone in her voice. He frowned at her hot chocolate, her latest comfort food. The two had pretty much argued every time one of them saw the other, because Bruce couldn't let it go. Once Audrey had realized he never responded to her rant on the way home from the hospital, she'd become furious. She brought it up, he retaliated with anger.

"I don't care. You still don't look like you're completely healed, and not enough to go fight Joker." she shot a glare at him.

"You know you're just coming up with lame excuses, and _I _know you're coming up with lame excuses." she shot back, then slurped her hot chocolate while the two engaged in a heated staring contest. Not another word was spoken between the two until Audrey decided to go to bed, five hours later. She was climbing the stairs, and Bruce was exiting his room after a shower, pants riding low on his hips. As soon as they caught sight of eachother, Audrey's face turned angry and she spun away, heading towards her room.

"Audrey, wait." she continued walk, almost to her door when he caught her bicep and spun her around to face him. She crossed her arms defiantly, facing him with an expectant expression.

"Audrey, please..." his voice broke and Audrey's hard expression disappeared.

"I have to, Bruce. If we don't stay on the offensive, he will kill me." Audrey tried to keep her voice level, putting up a facade of calm.

"Then we can go away." her heartbreak disappeared at those words, even if Bruce was still trying not to break down.

"I've made up my mind. Either help or stay out of my way." she paused then.

"And for God's sake, this is not the most dangerous thing I've done! I went into worse with much less of an idea." Bruce was about ready to return fire, when Audrey recalled the ultimatum she'd been avoiding. He said something, anger rising again in his voice, but she barely heard as she considered her options.

"Audrey!" he snapped, bringing her back to the present.

"Did you even hear a word I just said?"

"Not at all." she replied truthfully, then watched the anger bubbling higher. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin so she looked him full on.

"Neither of us thought about the obvious way to end the fighting." she said in a low, almost tender voice. Bruce froze, and she turned back down the stairs.

"Alfred!" she called.

"Yes, Au-"

"Audrey, no."

"Can you take me home?" _Though it sure doesn't feel like home there anymore._ She descended the steps quickly.

"Audrey. Audrey!" she ignored Bruce calling after her as she turned off the steps. Alfred looked at her from the kitchen, stressing between his choices. After a few moments of deliberation, he nodded, just as Bruce's footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Hurry." Alfred warned, ushering her into the garage quickly and hitting the button as he went. She slid into the Rolls Royce, and he reversed out quickly as Bruce got out of the house. Alfred turned around, sending snow flying, then sped down the driveway.

"Master Wayne will have my head." he pointed out to Audrey as he drove. She nodded, understanding.

"Thank you, Alfred." he smiled in the mirror.

"I understand why you did this. Master Wayne has always been pigheaded about those he loves. What you're doing tomorrow is the logical plan, and he needs to be given no other choice. However, is this the end?" he questioned ominously. Audrey looked at him, wondering if he meant the end of her, or of the couple.

"He didn't give me much choice..." she began slowly, testing the waters, "So as of right now, that is the end of us. Whether there is a second coming is up to him and his pigheadedness." she responded. Alfred nodded slowly.

"Also, it kind of pisses me off that he didn't think I would do that. What, does he think he has me wrapped around his finger?" she closed her mouth after the outburst, sealing in about a dozen others, and glared at her feet the rest of the drive. Alfred parked, and she thanked him, then headed upstairs. Once there, she locked the door, the windows, and pinned the curtains shut, then locked her bedroom door and went to bed so she couldn't think about what she'd just done.

* * *

Audrey was thinking about it. A lot. Enough so that when she finally fell asleep, she slept until twenty minutes before the movie began, prompting her to fling herself out of bed and shower faster than she ever had before. Boy jeans and a sweatshirt were her clothing of choice, and once she dealt with hygiene, she was racing out the door, locked it behind her, then flew down the stairs and out of the apartment, already late for the movie. Jayden found her quickly, or rather vice versa, and she slid into her seat, giggling uncontrollably for the next ten minutes until she calmed down.

A few hours later, the two girls walked out, shocked at the Bourne Legacy.

"That was so... twisted." Jayden decided. Audrey nodded, slowly coming out of her movie coma and into high alert mode as she remembered the reason for this trip. Jayden got in her car safely and was out of view safely. Audrey shook her hands out after seeing her friend off, and checked the time on her phone.

"Five in the after noon? Hot damn I've got time to kill today." she muttered, then promptly walked into a donut shop and bought herself a custard donut. Her sneakers squeaked in the slush as she walked, as the perpetual snow was melting, indicating a return to Spring. Audrey bit into her donut, looking around. She had no doubt that Gregory was tailing her in some clunker the police department had, and that Batman was in the skies, hiding skittishly in the daylight. Though, the sun was setting and soon the city would be Batman's territory again.

Audrey briefly realized she probably should've requested some training before this whole mission, just in case she had to actually fight.

Custard fell from the mauled donut and into the snow, surprising Audrey. She jumped and looked down at the sugary yellow filling, only to feel a hand brush her waist seconds later.

"Hello, my dear. No boyfriend today?" his comment prompted her to think of the inappropriate response for this situation, yet the oddly amusing.

"Which one?" as she predicted, this caused Joker to blow up in laughter. After a few moments, he stopped, and Audrey turned to face him, shocked to see a lack of makeup. His skin was peachy, normal looking, and his eyes looked strangely bland without the eyeliner.

"I meant Mr. Wayne. I'm sure Batman is floating around out here somewhere anyway." his hands spasmed in a way as he said floating, showing a more kind of flitting than floating.

"And when did it become appropriate," Joker questioned, grabbing a lock of hair, pinned under a beanie, and walking around her to survey, "for beautiful young women to walk around alone at night? Surely Mr. Wayne would not have allowed this."

"No. He didn't."

"You snuck out?" Joker fake gasped, and Audrey snorted.

"No. I broke up with him."

"All for him not allowing you out?"

"No, because he didn't understand why I do what I do and tried to keep me from doing it." Joker laughed again, then suddenly was up close and personal with Audrey, barely inches between their faces.

"I don't quite understand why you do what you do either. Could you explain?"

"I have a moral compass. Would you like one?" and with that she struck out, catching him full on in the teeth with one fist, hooking his ankle with her foot, and hitting him in the throat with her other fist. He came down hard, laughing, onto the cement, then attempted to fight Audrey off. She blocked his punches with her forearms and threw back, nailing him again in the throat with her elbow, then holding him there as her elbow dug into his Adam's apple.

"You're feisty. You down after the breakup?" she took a deep breath, eyes trained on his.

"No. I'm fucking pissed."

"I would say I'd take his place, but angry women are a little scary. I need a lot scary." people, as usual, were simply swerving around the two like it was completely normal for girls to pin boys to the ground. However, as soon as a heavy pair of feet hit the ground, people avoided the spot completely, accompanied by several stares as Batman stalked forward. A second pair of shoes came racing up, stopping on the opposite side from Batman.

"Now what?" Gregory questioned.

"You take me in!" Joker cried gleefully.

"Not a good idea." both Batman and Audrey responded. She refused the urge to look up and glare, focusing her semi glare on Joker.

"Are you angry with Batman as well?" he questioned.

"Yes." she responded.

"What do we do then?"

"I'll take him." Batman decided. Audrey still didn't glance up as she spoke.

"And what, chain him to the floor?"

"If I have to." his gloved hand wrapped around the collar of Joker's coat, and yanked him up, causing a short elbow construction as he went up.

"Ow!" Joker whined. Audrey stood up and rolled her eyes.

"Go now, before someone else from the police department arrives. Gregory, you can go too. I'll just continue my walk. Maybe get a new donut."

"I-" she shot the sharpest glare she could at Batman and he shut up.

"One of these days we'll duke it out, but right now just seeing you pisses me off. I can take care of myself. Go away." Batman gave her one last look before disappearing with Joker, and Gregory melted into the crowd. Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A deep breath that quickly evolved into a scream as two sets of hands yanked her backward into a car and then slammed the door. The car pealed away from the curb, tires squealing, and a damp rag pressed to her face. An overly sweet odour penetrated Audrey's nose, and she began to thrash about. About two minutes later, her vision went bright white, and then everyone simply went away.


	15. Chapter 15

**Yes I know I'm late again, I apologise. Also, I know that some of you are getting sick of Audrey getting hurt, and I swear after this chapter I will try and fix that in the later chapters; however, one injury is pretty vital to the story, so you'll have to accept my apologies again in advance. **

**Happy mother's day to all the mothers in the world, young and old.**

* * *

Audrey woke up to a hazy dose of terror, enough to jumpstart her heart, as it kicked up from sixty four beats per minute to one sixty beats per minute. Her vision was black, unnaturally so, and she could feel the duct tape across her lips. Her hands were firmly bound behind her, attached to the chair, and her ankles were bound together. The air was chilly. Not quite cold, but definitely not warm.

"When did the boss say he'd be back?" someone far away questioned.

"Midnight." someone else, equally far in the other direction, responded.

"It's two in the morning." a third pointed out in yet another direction. Audrey winced at the throb in her head, accentuated by the rising volume of the voices.

"Hey, I think she's awake."

"Should we knock her out again?"

"Are you kidding? We aren't supposed to harm her." Audrey snorted.

"Take the blindfold off."

"You're a moron. This is the woman off the news. We take it off, and she plans an escape route in seconds."

_Whoever these idiots are, they think a little too highly of me._ Audrey decided, almost bitterly, as she gripped the back posts of her chair. Splinters met her fingertips, and she assumed old, wooden chair.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Joker's voice rang out suddenly from the first direction. _Door._ Hands quickly fumbled with the blindfold, yanking out strands of hair as they pulled it off. Her vision whited out, then faded to colour. She found herself in a barely lit, large cement room. There was one door, and a few windows opposite the door. Joker, still makeupless, sauntered up to Audrey and picked at the edge of the duct tape, but didn't pull it off.

"Nice sleep?" she just watched him, and he frowned.

"What? The fight gone out of you?" her lips tugged at the tape on them, trying to form a smile. He grinned.

"I saw that. So, you have no idea where we are. I'll give you a few clues, and then our game will begin. I still don't know just how capable you are, so this is another test! We are on the top floor of a building scheduled for demolition in... ten minutes. The elevators are downed, and there are numerous obstacles on the way down. Good luck." the blind fold went back on, and the rope on her hands was sliced.

"Begin!" a slam sounded, and she ripped the blindfold and duct tape off, biting her tongue as all the littles hairs on her face ripped out with the tape. She furiously worked on the ropes on her feet, her fingers bleeding and raw by the time the knot came undone and the rope fell off. Her wrists were also bleeding from the ropes there, which she figured came from the initial tying and dragging.

On her feet, Audrey sprinted for the door and went straight for the emergency exit stairs at the far end of the hallway. To her dismay, the first set of stairs was AWOL. She gripped the railing and slowly slid down it, then jumped onto the next set and raced down. Three more sets down, and Audrey found an unconscious person. Heart pounding as her mind kept track of her disappearing seconds, she dropped to her knees to check for a pulse. Upon finding the person alive, she groaned and slapped them hard. To her relief, they snapped awake and sat up quickly, smacking her head on his. She bit her tongue again, then stood up.

"Let's go."

"Where are we?"

"Not safe." she yanked him to his feet, then continued down.

Two more sets, and the stairs stopped. Audrey immediately swiveled toward the door and ripped it open. One step, and her shoes made a splashing noise.

"What is that smell?" the man behind her questioned, sounding rather disgusted. Audrey sniffed, then began moving again.

"Hey! I asked a question!"

"Have you ever put gas in a car?" she snapped, capacity for manners out the window at the ticking clock. The man connected the smell finally, and began racing after her, splashing gasoline everywhere.

"Hey! Slow down! We don't want it on us. When the building blows, we do not want go up like a torch." the man slowed as he caught up to Audrey, still moving quickly through the gasoline, then noted the room the gas was spilling out of.

"Get on the stairs and wait for me." he nodded and moved through the emergency exit door. She opened the door, and another few gallons of gas spilled out, rising up the middle of her foot. On a desk was a little girl, tied down with the scratchy rope. Audrey cursed and checked for a pulse before starting on the knot. Upon finding there no pulse, she closed her eyes for a brief second before turning out of the room and running to catch up.

"What happened to no gas on us?" the man questioned. Audrey continued moving, not responding to his pointed the duo descended another five sets of stairs, the stairway grew hotter and hotter.

"Man it's getting hot." the man commented behind her. She stopped.

"Take off your coat."

"What?"

"Just do it." she shed her gas soaked sweatshirt and left it on the stairway and looked at her feet for a second before releasing a breath and continuing on.

"Stay as far from the flames as you can, and stay right behind me." she went down the last set, then opened the door to a heated assault of air. Moving quickly, she entered the hallway and began crossing, kicking at anything in her way. Her shoes caught fire instantly, then went out as soon as she set her foot back down. Her heart was pounding as her mind thought of everything that could go wrong to get her killed, while her body continued moving, in strict survival mode. Her sleeve caught fire once and she patted it out without much thought about the flame. Once she caught sight of the stairs, she sent the man on ahead of her, then glanced around the room before taking off after thim. They landed on the first and final floor, and Audrey shooed the man ahead of her as she picked up on someone shouting. After spinning in a circle, she located the door they were behind and went for it right as someone gripped her arm and yanked her out.

"No! No!" she thrashed at the person and they released her. Audrey shot toward the door and threw it open, running inside and finding Jayden strapped to a chair.

"Audrey!" she screamed, voice hoarse. Audrey crossed the room quickly and undid the knot with shaking fingers, staining the rope blood red, then yanking Jayden up. Jayden stumbled after her.

"Come on, dammit!" Audrey yanked hard, and Jayden's awkward stumble turned into her graceful, long stride run that Audrey knew. The two managed twenty feet from the building before it blew, sending both women to the ground with the concussive force. Audrey's forearms and knees caught the blunt of the blow, ripping off a few layers of skin on the rough asphalt.

"Jayden?" Audrey called when the ringing in her ears ceased, a few minutes later.

"Now is a good time to tell you that I'm moving in with my parents." both girls began laughing despite the situation, and Audrey pushed herself to her knees, then pulled Jayden up.

"Good. You could use a break."

"Tell me about it. Wanna come?"

"I wish. Oh! Before you go, then, I should tell you I broke up with Bruce." Audrey brushed herself off and looked at her knees. The jeans had been ripped wide open and her knees were beginning to bleed a little, along with a minuscule patch on her face and her forearms. Jayden hooked Audrey with a bewildered look, and Audrey and her walked off like they hadn't just been kidnapped and put in a rigged building.

"Why'd you break up with him?" Jayden questioned, earning a light glare from Audrey.

"He was getting possessive." she shrugged, and Jayden glared back.

"Are you stupid?! You could've been set for life!" Audrey laughed.

"I wouldn't let him pay for anything anyways. What makes you think I'd let him pay for me forever?"

"You survived?" she stopped and looked at Joker, wearing a glare she usually reserved for people who's throats she wanted to rip out. In this situation, the glare wasn't undeserved.

"We're talking here, and I'm bleeding. You can wait until my most recent injuries heal before you attack me again." she started walking again, and Jayden laughed quietly, still obviously numb from nerves.

"Now wait a minute..." Joker gripped her shoulder and Audrey spun around, gripping his forearm as leverage and flipping him over her shoulder with a grunt, slamming him into the cement with a surprising amount of force and surprise at the fact that her move had worked.

"Jayden, just go home and then call me." Jayden nodded and took off, while Audrey dug her shoe into Joker's back, then walked off as her knees became increasingly painful.

Once in the apartment, she grabbed the phone and her medical kit, then sat down and began tending to her injuries while calling Alfred.

"_Ello?_" she smiled.

"Alfred."

"_Miss Audrey! What do you need?_"

"Is everything okay over there? I just ran into Joker. Sort of."

"_Master Bruce let go of him when something happened to you. When he went back, Joker was gone._" Audrey sighed, then gasped at the sting of Neosporin.

"_Are you alright?_"

"I'm a little bloody. Look, don't tell Bruce I asked about him."

"_I will be telling him you are alright._"

"Go ahead. I just wanted to make sure that he didn't die or something. Goodnight, Alfred."

"_Goodnight, Audrey._"

* * *

After then making the agonizing call the next day to her uncle to explain why they hadn't showed up for dinner, Audrey went through hell on Monday. Her knees had scabbed over, and she'd had to wrap them so she wouldn't pick at the scabs. Her forearms were a mess, and her face looked only a little more attractive, a small bandage taped to her left cheek. The look from Bruce she received, however, made it all worth it. Jayden was working her last day for a while before she took off to avoid the Joker mess, and snorted at his face.

Upon getting to the office that morning, his jaw dropped and his step faltered, causing him to stumble and catch himself on her counter.

"Audrey?"

"Yes Mr. Wayne?" she barely looked up from the computer screen, suppressing a grin.

"What happened?"

"An accident, sir." he closed the space and dropped down to her level, sitting on her desk.

"Cut the shit, Audrey."

"An accident." she said again, eyes still on the screen. His hand gripped her jaw, fingers pressing on the bottom of the bandage, and she winced, causing him to let go. He gripped her wrist firmly in his hand, then dragged her into his office and shut the door behind him.

"You cannot do this, Audrey."

"Do what?" she questioned ignorantly. He stepped closer, inside her personal space.

"That. Don't start all over." she just looked at him, blinking a few times.

"What happened?"

"I'm not telling you. You don't have any leverage on me right now, and I have no want to tell you." He took another step closer, so they were practically chest to chest.

"I don't care if you dumped me. I don't care if you don't want to associate with me. Where I do give a damn, is when you show up and look like someone beat your ass." she smirked.

"You should see the rest of me." immediately she regretted her words as the fury they invoked appeared just under the surface, hardening Bruce's features into chiseled stone.

"What. Happened." she straightened her posture and raised her chin to look him in the eyes.

"An accident." his hands twitched and clenched at his sides, his mind unsure of what to do at her defiance.

"Hit me, I dare you." she jabbed, "While beating on your other victims may work, you know it won't with me. I can take it, and you won't lay a finger on me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to work." she moved around Bruce, and he gripped her forearm, causing her to cry out at the pain that shot up and down her arm. He released her immediately, and she cradled her arm, hot tears in her eyes already. Her chest heaved as she held back the waterfall that magically appeared whenever her injuries were touched, and Bruce pulled her gently toward him by her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and waist.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." everyone bone in her body yearned to stay put, while her mind revolted, reminding her she was supposed to be pissed at him. All she really cared about at that point was the pain. The door slammed open behind her, and Audrey flinched.

"What the hell did you do?!" Jayden shouted as the door again slammed, rebounding off Jayden and hitting the wall.

"It was an accident-"

"And you fucking made her cry!"

"I'm not crying." Audrey called, a bit miffed that Jayden thought she was soft enough to let the tears fall.

"Yeah, well, you're about to."

"How am I supposed to avoid her injuries if I don't know where she's hurt?" Bruce questioned. That halted Jayden's fury for a few moments.

"You're not dating anymore. You don't have reason to be possessive." despite the fact that Audrey was the one who ended the relationship, that comment stung a little bit.

"Audrey, let's-"

"No. I need to stand still for a few minutes." Jayden huffed and turned to leave.

"Jayden." Bruce called as she reached the door.

"What?" she responded testily.

"What happened to you two?" Audrey groaned against his chest, realizing she'd forgotten about Jayden's matching injuries.

"Joker kidnapped us and put us in a building set for demolition." Jayden slammed the door a third time, and Bruce's grip on Audrey tightened.

"You might want to let me go."

"Why should I? You'll just run."

"Not right now, but I think you made me bleed again and I don't want to pay for your suit." he released her and she pulled off her own suit jacket. Indeed, the long bandage on the side of her arm was showing red blotches already. Bruce left the room and came back with Jayden's large first aid kit, then forced Audrey to sit on his desk as he pulled the bandage off and began what needed to be done. Audrey stared off into space for a few minutes as he tended to her arm. Once he finished, she stood up and took the kit with her.

"We're still not okay, Bruce." she shut the door and gave Jayden back the kit, then sat back down at her computer and finished the email she was working on, arm throbbing at each movement of the wrist.

* * *

Audrey was almost to the train stop nearest her uncle's house, when she realized that she'd left Ace at Bruce's house. Her lips tightened to keep in her groan, and she simply walked off the train, and walked the last half a mile to the gates.

"_Audrey, typically you're supposed to bring a car._" she laughed at the intercom.

"Sorry, I don't own one."

"_What, no Bruce?_"

"We'll talk once you let me inside." the gates swung open and she walked through quickly, then plodded the rest of the way to the house. Her uncle met her outside wearing just a bathrobe again. She rolled her eyes and followed him inside.

"So obviously something happened." he began as she sat down and he pushed hot chocolate toward her. A slight smile flickered on and off her face at the hot drink, and she took a slow drink before answering.

"Uh, yeah. Bruce and I got into a fight about him being possessive and I kind of dumped him. My face came from a run in with Joker." she shrugged.

"So you broke up with Bruce after your first fight?"

"He wouldn't let me do something I needed to do, and the only way I could come up with to stop the fighting was to get out." George frowned at Audrey, and she frowned back at him.

"Go make up with him, right now."

"No! He was being a jerk."

"Now."

"No! If he wants to get back together, then he's going to have to apologize and shape up." this initiated an intense staring contest that lasted several minutes before George broke and blinked.

"You know about Rachel Dawes?" he questioned, stirring his mystery drink. Audrey sipped her hot chocolate.

"The woman in the D.A.'s office who got blown up and was dating Harvey Dent?"

"Yes, her. Way to be nice about it, Audrey. Anyway, she was Bruce's childhood friend. And before the end, I think he actually was in love with her." Audrey blinked twice.

"She died, and he really hasn't been the same since. Very lifeless and unmotivated, even toward the beautiful women that stalked him everywhere." he paused.

"How long ago did you two meet?"

"Two months?"

"That sounds right, because about two months ago, suddenly, he had something to say whenever he came to visit. Questioned whether or not I abused my power at my company." Audrey snickered, and her uncle grinned.

"I take it that was your fault?"

"I yelled at him for it."

"Anyway, my point was, you brought life back into that bastard, and I would be grateful if you didn't kill him again." Audrey blew out a breath and closed her eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

Briefly, during the next fourteen days of relative peace and boredom, did Audrey think of Bruce. In fact, she spent most of her time finding ways to not think about him. He didn't show up to the office at all, though she knew he was roaming the building, probably avoiding her as she was him. Her uncle had called to yell at her about 'killing Bruce', and Jayden called everyday to get an update. Not a peep had been heard of Joker for the fourteen days, and thus Audrey now was filled with apprehension about him instead of Bruce.

That being said, when Bruce showed up at her door on a Thursday night, she flipped out.

She'd been home alone for nearly three hours now, and was wearing her baggiest sweatpants and tee shirt, dock blasting Renegade by Styx. After looking through the peephole, she cleaned the apartment hastily for a few seconds, then realized she shouldn't care and stopped, pausing her loud music and opening the door.

"What do you want?"

"To talk." was his response. She took him in quickly, noting his beard going on, and his very unstyled hair. Bruce had indeed, died again.

At that thought, she snorted and held the door open for him to pass. Once he was inside, she shut the door and moved into the kitchen.

"Before you begin, you promise me to go home and shave that animal off your face?" he almost smiled at her words, instead occupying his mind with his next words as he sat. She grabbed a Mountain Dew from the fridge and opened it.

"You really did die again." he looked up at her now, locking gazes with her.

"Sorry. Uncle George called and yelled at me for killing you. I didn't think you would actually die inside." she leaned over the counter and poked at the beard, expecting it to quiver like a sleeping animal. When it didn't, she frowned and moved back.

"Have you actually gone to work in the past two weeks?" he frowned, though she could barely tell through the small animal.

"Once or twice."

"God you lazy ass. Just because someone breaks up with you doesn't mean you fall into a pit of despair. You don't think this has been hard on me too? I may have been the one who dumped you, but I still feel like my heart got shattered. I haven't started growing a woman beard or skipped work. Though, that's because I actually need the money." they just looked at eachother, and she waited for him to speak.

"I can't sleep at night because I think you're going to go out to a movie and Joker is going to bomb the cinema. I don't go to work because I'm scared that one day you won't be there. I haven't shaved because Alfred wouldn't give me back my razor until I talked to you. Ace tore up the bedding in your old room and won't leave the room" he paused to move onto another point, "I can't move on, Audrey. I lost Rachel, I can't lose you." she moved around the counter and pulled at the fur on his face.

"That wasn't the idea. I needed you to know what could happen. Sheltering me is not going to keep me from getting killed by Joker. If anything, it just endangers more people and will get me killed faster when Joker gets bored of me. I needed you to open your eyes and treat me like an equal, not like a naïve child." she paused, and considered braiding his beard.

"Do you agree to my terms?"

"That's only one term."

"The other is that Alfred has to second your decisions for them to be valid." Bruce nodded and pulled Audrey into a hug.

"However, I'm not kissing you until that animal is gone and off your face." he laughed, shaking her entire body with the rumbles.

"I'll shave tonight. And Ace is staying at my house."

"Why? So you know I'll come back and not sever all ties?"

"Yeah pretty much. I also have a yard, and more room." she let go of him.

"And? I'm his girlfriend."

"Oh you're dating the dog now?"

"Yeah. Badur." he moved like he was going to kiss her, and she ran away squealing.

"Go shave Saskatchewan!" Bruce rose from his seat and moved like he was going to chase after her, prompting her to jump the couch and shoot into her room, slamming the door behind her. His laugher sounded through the door.

"I'm leaving."

"Good! Shave off that poor squirrel and tell Ace and Alfred hi!"

"We'll see." the front door shut, and she escaped her room, locked the door, then resumed her music.

* * *

Audrey almost forgot about the reconciling the night before when she went to work the next day, until she saw a clean shaven Bruce back in the office. The only thing she could think to say when he approached was; "You actually shaved!" he grinned and abducted Jayden's chair so he could sit with Audrey.

"Alfred wants you to move back in." she frowned.

"That's a little fast."

"I don't provide enough variety in conversation for him." this turned Audrey's frown into a smug smile.

"He misses my sporadic thoughts."

"I guess."

"Ms. Habicht, I need you." Fox began as he exited his office, then paused.

"Nice to see you back, Mr. Wayne." he greeted with a slight tilt of the head. Audrey stood up and patted Bruce's head.

"I'll be back later. Go do work."

"So you just take my secretary?" Fox turned around as Audrey suppressed a smile, facing the elevator to hide her expression.

"I take your secretary as mine is on vacation. You will get to see Ms. Habicht everyday for presumably the rest of your life. I think I can monopolize a few hours of her time." Fox turned around, and Audrey giggled as she followed him to the elevator.

"What makes you assume we'll see eachother everyday for presumably the rest of our lives?" she questioned as they entered the elevator. Her relationship had never been a very stiff one with Fox, and therefore it only got more lax once she was in on the Batman's secret.

"You haven't seen your mother's engagement ring recently, have you?" he questioned, abruptly changing the subject. Surprised, she looked down at her right hand.

"How do you notice and I don't? That's just weird."

"I'm much older than you, Ms. Habicht. It's a learned skill."

"I'm thinking you secretly took it to make me act psychotic." she decided. Fox laughed quietly.

"If that makes you happy." she rolled her eyes and followed him into whatever random department he needed to check up on today.

* * *

"Ah ha!" she grabbed at her mother's engagement ring, which was resting just far enough under her bed that she couldn't reach it without crawling underneath. Bruce was coming by anytime now to bring her to Uncle George's house for the dinner they missed. She didn't dare dress up, because she knew Uncle George would be wearing cargo shorts and a tee shirt. She'd advised Bruce, and he hadn't responded.

At the thought of Bruce coming in a suit, Audrey snorted, sending up a puff of dust from the floor. She coughed and wiggled slightly under the bed, her body wedged between it and the floor.

"Audrey?"

"I'm under the bed!" she called, then grabbed the ring and slipped it onto her right hand, laughing quietly to herself as she tried to push herself out, only to find that her butt that she had worked so hard to get under the bed, would not reverse.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting my mom's ring. And now I'm stuck." she whined. Bruce laughed behind her.

"Are you going to help me?" she demanded.

"Not yet." she frowned and crawled forward, disappearing under the bed, then popping her head out the other side. She got her head, shoulders, and torso out, only to be stopped by her giant butt again.

"Have you thought about flipping over?" she shot a poisonous look at him.

"If my fat ass doesn't fit out now, what the hell do you think is going to happen with my hips if I try and flip over?" she snapped. He just watched with an amused smile as she disappeared under the bed and looked around, then moved toward the foot, which gave her the most space for when she was unable to stop her momentum and slammed into the wall.

"Angle yourself toward the door." he advised. She glared at his feet from under the bed.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm going to pull and I need space to do that." she watched his feet move toward the door, then maneuvered herself forward and out from under the foot of the bed, getting caught in the same place. Bruce gripped her hands tightly in his own and pulled hard, leaning backward as he did so. Her butt popped free and she let out a sigh as she hit the ground again. Bruce, however, hadn't been so lucky as to only fall a few inches, as he tripped and fell back onto his butt, hands barely catching him before his head hit the ground. Audrey laughed as she pushed herself to her knees, and Bruce frowned at her, picking himself up. She brushed the dust off her front side, then skipped past him and into the main room.

"Let's go." she called. He shook his head as he passed.

"I will never understand you." she grinned.

"Good." they exited the apartment, giving her time to appraise his choice of casual clothing. Despite her expectations, his casual attire was much more casual than the last time he'd seriously attempted dressing casually. His jeans looked to be a well loved pair, and a little bit of his black tee shirt peeked out from the zipped up army green jacket.

The ride over was silent as Audrey napped, head on the cold window. Once the car stopped, the door yanked open and she snapped awake as she began falling, her head caught by her uncle, laughing like a madman.

"That was perfect." he chortled. Audrey pushed at him and let herself slide the rest of the way out of the car. George helped her to her feet.

"Glad to see you're alive again, Bruce." Bruce shook his head at George, then locked the car and started up the stairs. Audrey bounded up to walk beside him, an evil smile on her lips.

"Oh come on, you have to admit you were pretty dead." she prodded. He glanced at her, eyebrows raised.

"And whose fault was that?"

"Well at least I helped fix the problem!"

"You caused it!"

"Lies." he caught her around the waist, swinging her around so her feet danged precariously off the side of the steps and down the hill.

"You think this scares me?" she questioned. He half dropped her and she shrieked, preparing to roll. He caught her again easily, and she thrashed in his grip.

"Put me down dammit!" suddenly, their combined weight was pushed forward, and the two headed into a head spin down the hill and into the wood fence at the bottom. Audrey burst into hysterical laughter when they stopped, and Bruce just held her still against the ground, so she didn't go rolling into the pond a few feet away.

"Thank your uncle for me later." Bruce commented rather sarcastically.

"You're welcome." George called, having heard Bruce's comment. Audrey propped herself up and inspected her white sweatshirt, miraculously free of grass stains or water. Her jeans, however, were not so lucky, as she'd managed to rip a hole in the knee, along with grass cuts all over her scarring knee.

"Bruce carry me up the hill." she whined, pointing back up the hill. He frowned.

"This is all your fault." he pointed out, standing up. She held out her hand and he pulled her up, only for her to lean back against the fence and hear it creak before the end of the board broke off and fell out of the hole in the post, sending her falling back toward the pond. Her lower back slammed into the middle board and she winced, catching herself and pushing upright.

"You're a disaster. Let's get up the hill before you fall in the pond." he pulled her forward and up the hill, where George took control and dragged her inside, forcing her into her seat at the small dining table.

"So how are my two second favourite people?" he questioned once food had been brought out. Audrey shrugged, and Bruce lapsed into thought. His lack of immediate response turned all attention to him as Audrey picked at her food. After deciding Bruce took too long to respond, she managed to say at the same time as him, "We're getting better." she grinned and looked at him, while he stole food off her plate.

"Hey!"

"You eat a bean and then you're done." she scowled and elbowed him.

"Where is the misses?" Audrey questioned, diverting his attention. George made an odd face, a mix between a scowl and a laugh.

"She went to see her half sister that we recently discovered. Speaking of which, when are you two going to get married?"

"Whenever Bruce grows a pair." Audrey volleyed back immediately, not realizing what she'd both divulged and said. Once she did, she kept her eyes on her food, face turning red. The retort wouldn't have meant quite so much to anyone else but George, who took an opening in anything he could to poke fun at people.

"You two haven't...?" while neither of them spoke, Audrey was not quite sure what Bruce's face would look like, since hers was faced downward at her food as she stabbed a pea.

"Aw that's sweet. Most people your age would be at it like rabbits."

"Could we not?" she questioned. George laughed, "Fine. Be boring like that." another few moments of awkward silence, and Audrey just had one more thing to comment.

"It's not like a chore, you can't just say _now_."

"Audrey!" Bruce flicked her temple and she laughed.

"And Bruce hasn't even taken me out on a date yet."

"Bruce!" this had George flinging vegetables at Bruce with a spoon, and Audrey laughed, ducking out of the picture and under the table. Bruce caught her around the waist before she went completely under, and dragged her back up and onto his lap so he could hide behind her.

"Cease fire!" she cried, still laughing. The flying peas stopped for a moment and she glanced out from between her fingers shielding her face.

"Your attack is on him, not me!"

"He dragged you into this war."

"I'm still innocent!" Bruce took this opportunity to grab a spoon off the table and begin launching peas behind Audrey, re-initiating the war and getting her pelted again. She covered her face and hunched over, exposing Bruce's face. He ducked down and hid his face in Audrey's neck, forcing George to stop firing again.

Two hours later, and they were sitting in front of the fire, Bruce's head in Audrey's lap as he slept, and George stretched out on the couch across from them.

"So, no dates yet, but okay with marriage?" George questioned. Audrey leaned her head back against the stuffed leather back, then closed her eyes.

"It's hard to explain, you know? You know of some of my exploits due to the news, but there have been a few more than they know." she paused to censor her thoughts, "Bruce has seen the aftermath of every single thing I've done, and is still here. He's helped me through a lot. So I actually can't say for him, but if he were to propose, I'd say yes." all was silent for a few minutes while George absorbed this.

"When Liv and I were dating, all of her friends and mine thought it was just because I had money and she was beautiful. I was _too old_ for her. In actuality, I asked her out because she seemed tormented in the photos and videos of her on TV, and I wanted to make her happy. We fell in love, and when I proposed, her friends tried to convince her strongly against it. Mine tried to tell me that she would just cheat on me with some younger man. But Bruce... he always supported me. When everyone around us was telling us what would go wrong and that it wouldn't work, Bruce was always there. 'Love knows no bounds.' He would quote that whenever one of us began to feel skittish. And that was when he was still _dead _inside. He would go on and explain how love had nothing to do with age or appearance. It was the person's soul that you fell in love with, not the body." he paused to take a breath after his story, and Audrey had pulled her head down, watching him.

"So I can understand how you didn't need to go on a date. Dates are getting to know one eachother and allowing affection to bloom into something more. With the way your life has been since you met him, it's not a surprise that you two bonded without the dates. Danger puts everything into perspective and strips the human being into it's most essential needs and desires. It takes out all doubt and apprehension about what you're feeling because there isn't time for that." he paused again.

"A lot of people are going to think you and Bruce are taking it too fast if you get engaged soon." she continued watching him, knowing he wasn't done, "But I think you two are past the engagement point, emotionally. I'll back you up no matter what."


	17. Chapter 17

**Yeah yeah, I'm TWO days late. Sorry, I'm a terrible person and deserve to be stoned. And this chapter won't even make up for my being late. Sorry.**

Audrey's return to consciousness the next morning was a slow one. Bruce had been entirely too asleep to drive home, so she'd driven both of them back to her place, not wanting to brave the drive to the Wayne Manor in the middle of the night. He'd walked straight to her bed as soon as they got into the apartment, and she just laughed, grabbing her clothes to change, then setting up camp on the couch.

The smell of coffee assaulted her nose, and she groaned, rolling over to bury her face in the pillow she'd grabbed. The smell got stronger, and she pressed her face harder into the pillow, trying to make it go away.

"I didn't think you'd react so strongly to coffee."

"It smells terrible." she complained through the pillow. Bruce laughed and she heard his knees crack as he crouched beside her.

"So why exactly did I wake up in your bed this morning, with you on the couch?"

"Do you remember like anything after you fell asleep on the couch at Uncle George's?" she shifted so she could see him, nose twitching at the bitter scent of the coffee in his hand.

"Not really."

"Oh. Well, I had to drive us back, and I didn't want to try the drive to the manor at midnight, so I just brought you here. You went straight to my room, so I bunked on the couch."

"You could have kicked me out or laid with me." she gave him withering look usually worn by elderly women, and he frowned.

"I wouldn't have done anything."

"Yeah right. Now get that crap away from me." she pushed at him lightly, and he fell back onto his ass, keeping his coffee in the mug amazingly. His frown deepened, and she flipped back over, then closed her eyes. The mug clinked, and then Bruce's body was on hers, crushing her into the couch. She groaned loudly, and he smirked.

"You weigh like two hundred pounds."

"One ninety." he corrected. She threw her elbows back, and they connected with his ribs. Bruce didn't so much as wince, instead wrapping his arms around her and crushing her against him. Her shoulder popped loudly, and Bruce snorted, then pressed warm lips to Audrey's neck. She shuddered against him, her face escaping from the dent in the pillow. He caught her lips, and she shoved at him, nose wrinkled in disgust.

"You taste like coffee too! Get off me you disgusting pig!" he laughed and rolled onto the floor. Audrey lept off the couch and ran for the bathroom to brush her teeth and make sure she didn't look like shit. She brushed her teeth quickly, and wiped off any makeup that had decided to come off overnight, even though she hadn't put makeup on in a couple days.

"So what's the plan for today?" she questioned as she headed from the bathroom to her bedroom.

"I'm going back to the Manor, and was hoping you would come with me."

"I'm not going to start living there again. However, I would like to get all my clothes and see if I can bring Ace back." she closed the bedroom door, and Bruce leaned against it outside as she changed.

"I don't think Ace could survive in this small of a place. I don't know how _you _survive in this small of a place." she snorted.

"Firstly, this isn't that small. Secondly, it's cheap." she pulled on fresh underclothes, then hunted around for a pair of black sweatpants, then pulled them on. Afterward came the baggiest tee shirt she could find.

"This is tiny. And I could help pay for-"

"We've been over this." she cut him off. He sighed audibly.

"Sooner or later you're going to have to let me pay for you."

"You can pay on our first date that you need to take me out on."

"I have to take you on a date?"

"Seriously?! What am I supposed to tell our future children when they ask where we went on our first date?" he opened the door and looked at her incredulously.

"You've thought that far ahead?" she just looked at him, shirt halfway on, wresting around her waist.

"Not especially. It just kind of came out. Though you did miss an entire conversation last night when you fell asleep." he looked at her expectantly and she smirked.

"He questioned why I would marry you even though we haven't been out on a date." she pulled down her shirt, purposely avoiding looking at his face. After a brief moment of silence, which Audrey filled with the hunt for a headband, Bruce spoke up.

"Can I have your mother's ring?" she looked up at him, headband clutched in her hand.

"Why?"

"I want to get it resized so we don't have another under the bed adventure." his face was passive, a slight smile to be seen as he spoke. She guessed that he was avoiding the talk about her sentence.

"Also, you would marry me? I thought I was overbearing." She shot the headband at him and he grinned, grabbing it out of the air.

"You are overbearing, but that doesn't change how I feel about you." he held the headband high above her head, and she placed once hand on his shoulder for balance, jumping to try and reach it, and falling inches short every time.

"And how is that again?" she frowned and pulled his foot out from under him with her own foot, bringing him down onto the bed. She crawled forward, straddling his waist as she fought with his clenched fist to get the headband. Eventually her nails broke skin and he let go, letting her grab the headband and put it on.

"You're annoying, irritating, and just a general pain in my ass." she commented, then began to push herself up. He gripped her hard around the waist, keeping her down, and she smiled.

"I love you, though, and I would willingly spend the rest of my life with you."

"That's what I wanted to hear." he pulled her head down, his lips joining with hers smoothly. As his arms pulled her harder against him, a loud pop could be heard coming from Audrey's hip. She broke away, resting her head on the bed as she laughed. Bruce lifted his head up.

"What the hell was that?" he questioned. Audrey's laughter got louder as her lungs stretched to their maximum volume.

"Audrey?"

"Hold on." she gasped. He cradled her head in his hands, watching her now breathless, soundless laughter. After thirty seconds, she calmed down and was able to speak again.

"When I stretch too far, my hip pops."

"Does it hurt?"

"No. I just think it's funny when it happens." he shook his head.

"Let's go." she got off him and tied her hair back into a messy bun, then grabbed socks and athletic flip flops, then followed him out to the car, parked in the side alley.

"Oh that was safe."

"Where else was I supposed to park?" she questioned, sliding into the passenger side.

"There was no where else. But it still wasn't safe."

"Bruce, it's just a car."

"It's never just a car." he mumbled, roaring out onto the street and shooting away from the apartment. The car ride was characteristically silent until Audrey's plan came back to mind, and her mood plummeted. She waited until they were at the gates to the manor to bring anything up.

"Bruce."

"Hm?"

"We need to break up." she continued without much of a pause, watching his knuckles grow white as he gripped the wheel harder and harder, "Not for real though. It's just, Joker knows we're dating. What if, when he makes his grand move, he goes after you to get to me? Then we're left without a Batman. The city needs you, more than they need me." now she did pause, taking in his emotions splayed across his face while he parked. It was something that she had noticed. While his face was usually a good natured mask around other people, her and Alfred caught the opposite end, where every single emotion one could have flashed across his face in an instant. It was somewhat of a thing to behold before he settled his emotions.

"This is not the end of us. But I can't be the reason we lose perhaps the only person who can take Joker down."

"On one condition." the garage door came down behind them, and she kept her eyes on his face, trying not to get distracted by anything in the garage.

"We break up tomorrow, you stay the night tonight." she grinned.

"I think I can manage that. You also have to keep coming into work."

"There isn't any other way to make sure you stay alive." he muttered, opening the door and getting out. She followed suit, then realized how warm it was in the garage.

"What's the temperature outside?" he looked at her incredulously, and she gave a playful smile.

"It's almost spring, I'm guessing. That means I can break out my summer clothes." he shook his head and she followed him inside. Alfred looked up from the stove, and shot a smile at Audrey.

"Nice to see you again Miss Audrey. I assume this means you two have reconciled?" she shrugged and stepped past him.

"It's temporary." Bruce responded verbally, deciding Audrey's physical response wasn't enough. Alfred made no comment for a few seconds, stirring his eggs.

"You spent the night at Miss Audrey's last night?"

"Alfred, I told you to stop calling me that." Audrey pressed, grabbing a glass and pouring herself orange juice.

"Yes I did." Bruce responded to his butler, chuckling.

"And how was the dinner?"

"Entertaining." she snorted into her orange juice, then downed the entire glass and poured more.

"Thirsty, are we?"

"I didn't get anything to eat last night. Bruce ate half of my meal, then used the other half for ammo with my immature family member. So yes, I am fulfilling my need for sustenance with orange juice." Alfred nodded.

"I could make you some eggs as well."

"Nah. I'll get real food later." she downed the second glass, then put the orange juice away and washed out her cup.

"So what is the plan for today, Master Wayne?"

"To take Audrey out." she looked up from sudsing her cup, confused.

"Out where?"

"Wherever you want to go."

"I am _so _not dressed for the first date, if that is what you're trying to do." Bruce grinned.

"It doesn't have to be a restaurant or anything fancy." he pointed out. She frowned in thought, then heard an excited yip from the next room, and a clattering of claws against the floor.

"Ace! My baby!" she dropped to the floor as her dog slid into the kitchen and barreled toward her, covering her face with dog kisses.

"Master Wayne, you two will never have children. She'll only want dogs." Alfred commented. Bruce laughed, and Audrey played with Ace's ears.

"You gonna be my baby forever Ace? Hm?" he licked her face again, and she grinned, hugging the dog.

"So I think we should go to this street..."

"What street?" Bruce questioned. Audrey gave an odd smile, scratching Ace's nose.

"We're leaving."

"Oh no we aren't." Audrey smiled at the street that she'd forced Bruce to. It was a street no one of his social status would ever be caught dead on because they simply didn't like the grungy look on the outside. Audrey, though, was no upper class girl and knew all the places to go to have fun. This entire grungy four block street was filled with her childhood.

"We'll start on the left and work our way down and back up. Deal?"

"This is insane. These are like, drug shops, Audrey. If anyone sees us going in here, we'll both get fired."

"You own most of the company. They can only fire me. And it's not drugs shops, chill yourself." she pulled him to the first shop, a headshop looking place on the outside. Standing outside on the porch, she let Bruce form his own opinion of what the shop would look like on the inside. On the outside there was a large front window that had been painted black on the inside. There were several odd trinkets hanging from the overhang, including a dream catcher, a rabbit's foot, an actual shrunken head, and what appeared to be a large amethyst stone supported by several chains.

"Head shop." he decided. She grinned and opened the door. Instead of a bell, a loud cat's meow was the greeting one received upon entrance. The walls were a lavender colour inside, and the walls were decorated with assorted movie posters. The shelves had cheap jewelry from every large country, and there were DVDs and CDs and VHSs all over the floor space in cabinets. A large black cat wound it's way through the stacks and up to Audrey's feet.

"Audrey Habicht! I thought I would never see you again, gurl!" she smiled at the old black man behind the counter, his dreadlocks hanging down to hips. He was maybe sixty or fifty, but Audrey remembered him looking exactly the same when she was ten.

"And gurl, you been all o'er the news, and you been lookin' like a friggin' rockstar or something to those of us who knows you from when you was a youngin'." she released Bruce's hand and approached the glass counter, which held all of the strange trinkets one would think would be in a head shop, but toned down. Colourful rabbits' feet, fake shrunken heads, assorted animal pelts. Then, in the next section over, was the real reason Audrey hung around this shop. Assorted ancient candies from the fifties and older.

"And you brought- Mr. Bruce Wayne?" Audrey looked back at Bruce, who was slowly venturing toward Audrey again, taking in the strange things all around him.

"The one and only." he responded. The man behind the counter grinned at Audrey, showing his missing teeth and the nasty yellows ones that were left.

"Oh Marley, you lost more teeth." she frowned at him, and his grin grew.

"Iz been in and outz a fights wit the man cross the street since youz left us."

"Left? You've actually been here before?" Bruce questioned, having finally reached Audrey. The woman bent down to pick up to obese black cat and set it on the counter.

"I came down here from age ten to eighteen. Everyday after school was spent here on this street of _drug shops._ Tell me, Bruce. Does this look like a drug shop?"

"More like you just dragged me into the world's best disguised flea market."

"Pretta damn close, sir." Marley commented, then pointed at the goods in the store.

"I gotz dem DVDs, CDs, VHSs – even some recurds 'round 'ere some'ere – and I gotz cheap jewels from odder countries, and I gotz stupid fake headshop things, and den I gotz my candy, which is why Audrey Habicht loves me so." Bruce looked at the candy, then got closer to the glass.

"Are those Skybars?" he questioned, gesturing to a yellow candy bar.

"Why yes they is."

"My parents used to buy them for me. I could never figure out where they got them from."

"Tomas an' Marta? Yeahz! Dey had been comin' down 'ere forever ta getz these bars." as Audrey listened, she heard Marley jump from his natural horrible speaking to civilized, as he did when remembering a time when he spoke better, "I asked once why dey bought these old candies, and dey said dat it confused their poor son when he went to find more. It made it more special and more like a reward." she looked to Bruce, who had a faraway look in his eyes. She gave a small smile.

"Marley, come back to the present. I need a box of the Skybars, and some Pixy Stix."

"Comin' up for youz, my Audrey." he pulled out the requested items, and she pulled out her wallet, forking over forty dollars. He grinned his toothless smile at her, and she laughed, taking the bags.

"C'mon Bruce. We still got seventeen shops to check out."

"This may not be the place I thought it was." he muttered as she led him out. She laughed.

"Of course not. When we get back to the Manor, I'm going to hide these candy bars all over the house. So you are going to stay where I tell you to, and not move." he took her hand instead of responding, and she rolled her eyes, then dragged him into the next shop that had FORTUNE TELLER written all over the front. Once inside, it was again, like a difference world. There was no fortune teller inside the small shop. There was an old lady running a pet shop, with cats, dogs, hamsters, mice, and ever the occasional snake all over the floor area.

"Why does it say fortune teller on the front then?" Bruce questioned, as if coming off a statement by someone else. The old woman looked up and beamed at the two.

"My favourite and least favourite person all in one bundle. How awkward." she came out from behind the counter and kissed Audrey's cheeks, then hugged her hard. After, she gave Bruce a once over and hocked a loogie into a bucket by the door.

"Damn yuppie." she commented, then turned to Audrey.

"You come back after seven years, and you bring this shmuck with you? Who the hell stole your brain?" Audrey looked at Bruce, who looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

"Nobody stole my brain, Pepper. I work at Wayne Enterprises. He's my boss, and my boyfriend." Pepper hocked another loogie into the bucket.

"You're dead to me." Audrey laughed, then squealed as a snake started up her pantleg.

"Pepper!"

"Damn it Geoffry!" the old woman dropped to the ground and pulled the snake out of Audrey's pants.

"I would've left it." Bruce commented. Audrey smacked his chest, and Pepper snorted.

"Perhaps you're a better kid than I've been thinking you were. Tell me, Mr. Bruce Wayne, what is your favourite thing about the fine young woman you are currently attached to like a leech?" a faint blush could be seen in his cheeks, and Audrey grinned.

"You don't need to answer that, Bruce. Pepper, one of these days your dentures are going to come out when you do that." she commented as Pepper spat into the bucket again.

"Then stop making me angry, child!" Audrey rolled her eyes and looked at Bruce, who knew what she was going to ask before she asked.

"We should get a-"

"No."

"How do you know-"

"Because I know you. Ace is at my house right now, and I am not going to house a second dog for you." she pouted.

"I thought you loved me."

"Don't pull that."

"Bruceeee."

"No." she frowned, then turned to Pepper.

"Mlady, don't spit out your dentures, but we have to leave now because Bruce sucks majorly and won't buy me a puppy." Pepper growled, and Audrey dragged Bruce backward quickly. The last thing they saw was Pepper spitting, and her dentures flying out of her mouth and onto the fur infested floor.

"I like these people, whose next?" Audrey laughed at Bruce's comment and patted his shoulder.

"And what was up with the bucket?" she looked back through the window at the nasty coloured bucket sitting by the door, and at Pepper fighting the animals for her dentures.

"It's been there since I came around. She spits in it when people she hates come through the door, or when people make her angry."

"And why does it say Fortune Teller?"

"It was an inside joke when I first came. She and Marley were talking, and Pepper said, 'For June, tell her I'm sorry.' and handed him a box. I thought she said Fortune Teller." Audrey shrugged, and Bruce dropped his arm around her shoulders.

"It's a good thing you're cute." she elbowed him, and he jumped away from her, grinning.

"It's a good thing _you're_ cute, Mr. Wayne." he pulled her up against his chest, arms around her waist.

"So you wouldn't be dating me if I weren't?" she pursed her lips, then shook her head.

"Oh that's shallow." she laughed, looping her arms around his neck.

"I'm kidding. When you walked into the office the first time after I started working at Wayne Enterprises, my thoughts were along the line of, 'Oh he's a very handsome man.' and then I wanted to throw up." he chuckled.

"That's comforting."

"But you seemed like such an ass before I got to know you. You have to believe me."

"We'll find out if this relationship is going to last. I'm pretty sure your guts will be spilled by the time we're done today." she frowned, and he kissed her forehead, then took her hand and headed for the next shop. Audrey peered inside the window, then shook her head.

"Someone new. Let's move on."

"Why?"

"Because over my eight years here, I've learned that new people suck. It's the old ones you want to meet, because they're the ones who have shops with character." she pulled him along after her as they skipped over the next three shops, then entered the seventh. Blaring metal music assaulted the duo upon entering, and surprised Bruce enough for him to take a step back. Audrey winced at the volume.

"Andre! Turn it off!" she shouted. The music cut off, and a skinny white kid with the classic emo hairstyle and dark clothes stepped out from behind a giant set of speakers. He smiled at Audrey, his snakebites moving with his lips.

"I'm just testing the speakers, Odd." she socked him in the shoulder.

"Testing is not that loud. Now, where is your father?" Andre rubbed his shoulder and gestured to the back of the shop. Audrey led Bruce through the maze of electronics. In the back, they found a large, beefy black man of thirty five.

"Eyyy! Audrey the Bull is back again! Oh, who is this white kid?" the big black man peered at Bruce, who was looking at Audrey.

"How was that skinny kid related to this man?"

"Adoptive, you moron." the black man commented. Audrey snorted.

"Not even. Bob here opened the shop when he was twenty two, and Andre out front stalked the front of the shop forever. They've been living together since." realization crossed Bruce's face as he realized that this was the Bob that Audrey had been receiving fighting training from.

"Answer my question, fool!" Bob hit Audrey lightly in the shoulder, and Bruce moved in front of her.

"Oh, little man thinks he can protect his girlfriend?" Audrey frowned slightly, not sure whether to laugh or get in between the two.

"Come at me bro." Bob hit his chest, and Audrey chose this time to intervene, moving quickly around Bruce and Bob, then jumped and wrapping her arms around Bob's neck, then letting her weight fall downward, arms tight on his neck. He started spluttering, and gripped at her hands.

"Bob, if I can kick your ass, he can kill you." she advised, then let go. He turned around and hit her in the shoulder.

"Girl, you had dangerous skills when you were tiny, and they've only gotten more deadly since I started training you." she grinned, then returned to Bruce's side.

"This is the Bob who has been training you? Bruce questioned, confirming his suspicion.

"Yep. He's the cause of my bruises." Bruce eyed Bob indiscreetly.

"He's not exactly what I imagined."

"Is that a racist joke? Bruce Wayne, you're a terrible person!" Bruce made a face, and Audrey laughed.

"Anyway, got anything cheap right now, Bob?"

"I got a pair of sick speakers you should take a look at. Fixed them up myself. Would work great in your apartment."

"How did they let someone with such strange connections into the company?" Bruce questioned. Audrey smiled devilishly.

"Because I can do dirty work for the company. I wasn't just a secretary. Now, show me the- Wait. The ones Andre was testing out front?"

"Yeah them."

"I'll buy them." Bruce looked at her.

"What? I'll take them home with me later. How much, Bob?"

"Family discount makes it one fifty two." she narrowed her eyes.

"That's awful high, Bob. You better not be screwing me over."

"You'd kill me if I did, so I can assure you I'm not." she handed over her card, and he swiped it on the cash register, then entered the price. He handed the card back, and beamed at Audrey.

"Man, I love you girl. You just keep coming back for new systems."

"That's because I keep blowing the ones I buy." she muttered.

"We'll be back for them in like, half an hour."


	18. Chapter 18

**I have internet at my Mom's house for the first time in about a month and a half. It's like being given air again, as depressing as that sounds.**

**I would like to take this time to thank every single person who has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. It makes me happy. :3**

Audrey used to think it was kind of funny and cool how the media could hunt people down, as if they had people watching their houses at all times. However, it wasn't so funny now that she was one of the people they hunted down, and it certainly wasn't cool. Add to the fact that they knew she and Bruce were together in the store, and there were twice the insects outside with four times the hunger. The couple was currently roosting inside of an old diner she used to roost in when she was a kid. The old woman and her daughter behind the counter were laughing at Audrey's misery.

"Good thing we got the speakers?" Bruce tried. She looked at him like he was crazy, and his straight face cracked into an amused grin.

"_Sir,_ while you may be used to this, _I am not._" Bruce frowned at the use of sir, then patted Audrey's head.

"You'll get used to it." she elbowed him.

"Audrey Habicht, you get those reporters off my front porch or I'll dump a smoothie all over you." the owner threatened, suddenly not in the laughing mood as potential customers gathered on the outside of the media frenzy. Audrey growled and stood up, leaving her empty cup on the counter to make the owner mad, then started out. Bruce reluctantly followed her out.

"Ms. Habicht!" she stopped in the two square feet of space she had outside, and Bruce came out behind her, practically pressed against her due to lack of room.

"Are you and Mr. Wayne dating?" silence fell among the insects as they awaited her response.

"Yeah..." she finally decided.

"Are you the reason he has been refraining from his usual playboy activities for at least two months now?" she looked back at Bruce.

"You haven't even looked at scantily clad women on the street? Wow, what did I do to you?" he laughed and rested his forearm on top of her head.

"Good question." he responded.

"Ms. Habicht is your secretary isn't she? Isn't there some rule against that?" Bruce and Audrey looked at eachother now, neither of them knowing the answer.

"Is there? I've never heard of a rule like that."

"Are you two living together?" that question hit a little too closely to home for Audrey, but she said nothing.

"No."

"Do you plan on moving in together?"

"Moving into the Wayne Manor would almost be like living in two different places still." she muttered quietly. Bruce snorted behind her.

"Not yet. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got somewhere to be." Bruce took Audrey's hand and led her through the crowd. She slid into the car and let out a tense breath.

"It gets easier." he promised. She rolled her eyes.

"It won't for me. I'm the most socially awkward woman you could ever date."

"How do I manage to fall for the weird ones?" he questioned, starting the car and peeling away from the curb quickly. They arrived at Audrey's apartment in minutes and shlepped the speakers up the stairs, then returned to the Manor for dinner. Alfred already had food cooking by the time they arrived, and Audrey nearly swooned at the smell.

"Is that cheesy rice?"

"That it is."

"Thank. God." she sat down, hiding the candy bag under her seat, and waited to be served.

"Audrey we just ate. How are you still hungry?"

"I can always eat cheesy rice." she muttered. Bruce rolled his eyes and sat beside her.

"So the media found us today."

"Oh that's not good." Audrey snorted at Alfred's comment, watching him stir the rice.

"They'll publish it just in time for the breakup, then." Audrey muscles all tensed at the reminder of her impending situation. She was hesitant to call it doom, but knew that it very well could be her doom.

"Did you tell them you were coupled?"

"A public breakup is more likely to get to Joker." Bruce confirmed. Audrey stayed silent until the rice was served up, then went to pack up her clothes. Three hours of staring at the ceiling later, Bruce came to find her. She looked at him, upside down, and vaguely wondered why he was shirtless before realizing why.

"Bed time?"

"I'm going to bed. You can stay up all night if you want to." she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. You'll come and drag me to bed if I try. Let me go hide the candy at least." he nodded and disappeared. She sat up and grabbed the box of thirty two bars, then started her adventure. Most of the bars she hid in extremely random places, but some she hid in places that reminded her of herself. She saved four for when she inevitably woke up in the middle of the night to hide in his room while he slept, then crept into his room half an hour later.

"I was trained to be a ninja." he began as she entered the room. She stopped in the moonlight, watching his dark figure on the bed, "I should have been able to hear you sneaking around down there, yet I heard nothing. Did you wear slippers?" she giggled.

"Who wears slippers anymore?"

"Alfred." this made her laugh, and she placed the candy on the dresser, high out of Ace's reach, then climbed onto the bed and under the covers. Bruce wrapped his warm arms around her waist and she shivered.

"You. Are. Freezing." she snuggled up against him, leeching off his warmth.

"Your house is freezing." she responded.

* * *

Audrey knew it would happen.

It was bound to happen.

It had happened before, and this certainly wouldn't be the last time. However, it certainly was irritating.

As far as she knew, Bruce had been asleep almost from the moment she'd gotten in bed. She hadn't been able to sleep for four hours now. The clock beside the bed was on the cusp of two thirty in the morning, and she still couldn't feel an sense of fatigue in her body. So she sat and let her thoughts wander for four hours, until Bruce thought he was being sneaky and slipped out of bed. Once she heard the candy wrapper crinkle, she bust out laughing, startling him and the dog, and causing him to drop the candy, and for Ace to dive for it. A small fight ensued between man and beast with Bruce coming out on top, then leading to Bruce replacing the candy and coming back to bed.

"How long have you been awake?"

"All night, love. I can't _believe _you thought you would get away with eating candy at two thirty in the morning."

"You should get some sleep."

"I could say the same for you. It wouldn't do to have your handsome face all haggard looking tomorrow." she propped herself up to look at him sitting at the foot of the bed. He didn't say anything, just zoning out looking out the window. She crawled across the bed and sat beside him.

"What are you thinking too hard about?" he snapped back to reality and looked at her, giving a half smile.

"Things."

"What things?" he frowned at her, and she kept her face passive.

"The things I usually worry about with you." her brows knit together, and she jabbed him in the side, bringing his attention back to her.

"I'm a big girl. Yes or no?"

"Yes?"

"I can handle myself. Yes or no?"

"Yes?"

"Your worrying has proved pointless in past circumstances. Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Then there is no reason for you to be worrying now. Yes or no?"

"Yes. But-"

"But nothing. You cannot worry irrationally about me, or about anything. You are only allowed to focus your brainpower on the important things."

"You're imp-"

"Not important enough. Joker is important. Saving Gotham is important. A psychotic follower would say something like you have no time for personal relationships. While I'm not a psychotic follower, I will say the same thing. I can be a secondary worry, but I should not be disturbing your sleep cycle." she paused, then took a deep breath, "I love you. And as long as I love you, I am sure as hell not going to die, because just thinking about you dying inside again makes me want to beat you senseless. I can't do that unless I'm alive. So get some sleep, would you?" Bruce blinked once, then rested his hand on the back of Audrey's neck and pulled her lips to his. Seconds later, she was pinned to the bed, lips moving slowly with his. Her shirt came off slowly, his hands running over her flat stomach and skimming her waist. Her body quivered under his featherlight touch, and she withheld a moan, her back arching so her skin was flush with his. His hands slid her waistband past her hips, and she moaned quietly, out loud this time, as his hands ran down her thighs.

* * *

Leaving in the morning was perhaps one of the hardest things Audrey had ever done. She got up and got redressed quickly. Even once she was done laying out the four remaining candy bars, she was surprised that Bruce hadn't woken up. Sunlight was just beginning to break over the horizon, lighting up the navy blue blanket with streaks of gold. She turned and slipped out of the room, padding quietly down the hall in her bare feet. Downstairs, she found Alfred walking around dressed already, preparing a protein shake, it seemed. Ace was running around his legs in circles, unaware of the gross flavour of the thing Alfred held. He looked up at her, and set the glass down.

"Not going to say goodbye?" she raised her chin, a cocky smirk on her face.

"'It's only temporary.'" she mocked in her best Bruce voice. Alfred smiled, and led her out to the Rolls Royce. She slipped into the passenger seat, suitcase already shoved in the trunk. Alfred pulled out as quietly as one could with a car, and wound slowly down the driveway.

"He will not be happy with you just disappearing." she scratched her nose lightly.

"I would imagine not. I am not going to start the day with the largest guilty feeling ever though." Alfred nodded slowly.

"I can understand that. And I will be sure to tell Master Wayne what you said when he becomes enraged." she scoffed.

"He won't get enraged. Just a little angry..." without even needing to look at her, Alfred's silence repeated the truth they both knew. Bruce wouldn't be enraged. Bruce would be nearly murderous. At both Audrey and Alfred. Audrey for simply leaving, and Alfred for enabling her. After half an hour he would calm down.

Alfred parked, and Audrey thanked him, then retrieved her suitcase and began the trek up to her apartment. Once up there, she checked the time, then installed her new speakers, then showered and changed for work. After a quick blow drying, she grabbed some Pixy Stix out of the bag, then headed for the train station. Wearing a skirt was weird for her, after having worn sweatpants for an entire day.

Once on the train, her phone began to ring, and she fumbled for it in her purse.

"Hello?" she questioned.

"_Hey girl heyy._" Audrey cringed at Jayden's voice.

"_So I haven't received a call in the last four days. What the hell happened to you?_"

"Well, Bruce and I got back together, but we broke up again."

"_So all your time has been spent with him recently. You know there is a such thing as too much __time with a loved one._" Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm not stupid. We're kind of in a rough patch right now, with my whole night life thing going on." Jayden snorted.

"_Keep lying to yourself. You're scared of commitment._"

"You gonna keep saying that forever, or come up with something original?" the train came to the Wayne Enterprises stop, and Audrey got off, then was instantly swarmed by reporters.

"Ms. Habicht!" she groaned and hung up on Jayden, pocketing the phone.

"Yeah?"

"You've been wearing an engagement ring recently. Are you and Bruce Wayne engaged?" she felt the heat rise to her face, recalling the ring she left at the Manor for Bruce to get sized if he so felt the need. Taking advantage of her blush, she raised her left hand.

"No ring. No Bruce. No relationship." this silenced the squawking flock of insects, as they all looked at her with wide eyes and lenses.

"You two broke up?" Audrey stood rigidly tall, putting on her best angry face.

"Yeah. Because he's a good for nothing-"

* * *

"_-arrogant woman who needs to prioritize her life._" Audrey winced at the words coming out of Bruce's mouth, whether through the TV or not. The news stations had decided to play first her, then his interviews back to back and comment. While she knew the breakup was temporary and he didn't especially mean what he was saying, each word still stung like a knife to the heart. Her words had been equally traumatizing to herself, and she wondered if Bruce was watching.

"He has three years of acting in public on me. His interview should be much more convincing than mine." she muttered, then went to see to her Tuna Helper on the stove. She stirred it, staring aimlessly into space. For the two weeks of hell prior, she hadn't quite been sure what to do with herself. Bruce had taken up so much of her time everyday that having free time was almost too much for her. After eating her Tuna Helper, she decided on what she would do. Heading into her room, she sprayed her hair with a squirt bottle, then put curl enhancer on her hair. She blow dried it, then began the hassle of deciding on makeup for the next day. If she couldn't be in a relationship with Bruce for now, she sure as hell was going to make him want her like he hadn't before.

Strangely enough, Audrey's use of makeup did not make her feel more confident as she left the apartment the next day. If anything, she felt more self conscious then ever, simply because she would never admit to herself that she enjoyed getting pretty. Going outside was like skipping six steps of acceptance all together.

As she entered the building, she ignored stares that latched onto her like a tick latches onto a dog. Her dress was form fitting with a deep V neck and an open back, a soft black material. Once on the top floor, she walked almost slowly down the aisle way to her desk. Fox looked up from standing beside her desk at the click of her heels, and gave a soft smile. He approached her before she even got to her desk.

"You are going to give Bruce a heart attack." he commented fondly, taking her elbow.

"Hold up, gotta put the purse down." she threw it to her desk, listening to it land with a thud, then rejoined Fox. They got halfway to the elevator before a voice called to stop them.

"Who is _that_?" Bruce's voice called from the offices. Audrey giggled quietly, and Fox turned around.

"Surely, Mr. Wayne, you should recognize your secretary?" Audrey looked back over her shoulder, and the look of shock on Bruce's face was pure and unmatchable. His face remained that way as he stalked closer to the duo.

"What the..." real anger appeared on his face, and for a second Audrey felt fear. Not for herself, never that, but for Bruce's sanity.

"What? Maybe I'm going out after work and didn't have time to go home? Got a problem with it?" she placed her hand on her hips, and he gripped her wrist, dragging her back into his office. Had she wanted to fight back, she couldn't have, with her heels making her footing too precarious. So she let him drag her back into his office. Once immediately inside with the door closed behind them, he pressed her roughly against the wall and captured her lips hungrily. Audrey was a bit too stunned do to anything more than go along with the rough treatment. Bruce's hands roamed over her frame, resting on her upper thighs as he pressed her harder into the wall, body flush against hers. A moan began to escape her mouth as his lips roamed her neck. His lips came back to hers, cutting off the soft moan before it fully began.


	19. Chapter 19

**This is where the story really begins to pick up, I think. I also think y'all will like this chapter, though it's kinda short.**

Audrey was so sore the next day from Bruce's brief rough handling that she actually could not get out of bed. When she'd called in sick, her lie of cramps had kept from further questioning from Fox. Around one, she crawled painfully off the bed and out into the main room to watch TV and get Tylenol. At five, she got the expected call from Bruce.

"_Did something happen?_"

"You happened, Bruce. I have bruises in places I've never been bruised before." she whined, "Not to mention you split my lip and gave me another goddamn hickey." Bruce let out a relieved sigh on the other line, then chuckled.

"_I thought you died or something._"

"From the way things went yesterday, I could have. Jesus I didn't know you could be that rough." another quiet chuckle from Bruce.

"_I'm coming over._"

"Bruce, that is not safe."

"_Just this once._"

"Just once." she relented. He hung up, and she gave a weak glance at the open windows before groaning and shoving to her feet. The muscles in her back and arms screamed at her as she closed the curtains, and Bruce opened the door without warning as she was making her way slowly back to the couch. He moved silently across the floor and wrapped her up in his arms, face buried in her neck. She winced slightly, then giggled to cover up the pain of the bruise he was touching.

"You're such a worrywart."

"Are you okay?"

"You were the one that hurt me, genius. You tell me." he squeezed a little harder, and a squeak popped out of Audrey's mouth. In a split second, Bruce was feet away from her, looking warier than ever. She rolled her eyes.

"You were touching a bruise." she then continued her shuffling to the couch, where Bruce sat cautiously next to her. She looked at him incredulously.

"If you're going to stay for an hour, even, we are not going to play this game. I can take you touching a bruise or two." he pulled her down on top of him and held her against his chest. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked at the news on the TV.

"Why did you start being Batman?" she questioned out of the blue. He looked at her, hand twining her hair around his fingers.

"Do you remember how my parents were killed?" she nodded, recalling watching the news that day and seeing that Thomas and Marta Wayne had been killed by a Joe Chill.

"I wanted to help rid the world of men like him."

"Finish your father's calling and return Gotham to it's state of brilliance?" he nodded.

"It's well on it's way. Except for this ugly building." she hit him lightly.

"It's got character." she defended, trying to take her mind off the bruise on the arm that was pressed against Bruce.

"Why did you choose Wayne Enterprises?" he shot back. She pursed her lips in thought, knees pulling up so her entire body rested on top of Bruce's.

"It would pay a lot," she began slowly. Bruce snorted and she flicked his bicep, "it seemed to have a good reputation, and my mother was always praising the company, while my father tried to tear it down at home." Bruce's finger brushed the back of her neck accidentally while messing with her hair, and a shiver went down her spine.

"Cold?"

"Your fingers are cold. Why bats?" Bruce was silent for a few moments.

"When I was eight or nine, Rachel Dawes and her mother lived at the Wayne Manor. Her mother worked there, and Rachel was a friend. She found an arrowhead, and I chased her around until she let me see it. I took it, then fell down an abandon well. Startled a lot of bats and they all flew out at me. When I was thinking of what to masquerade as, I wanted to embody something everyone feared." he paused, and Audrey waited for him to finish, "During training, I had to get over my greatest fear to become what I wanted to be. That was bats. I would make every criminal fear what I once had." his fingers brushed the back of her neck again, and she shivered a full body shiver this time. He chuckled.

"What is your favourite thing your parents ever told you?" she drummed her fingers on his stomach, furrowing her brows as she thought hard.

"When I was like, twelve, I had loads of guy problems. My boyfriend had just broken up with me and I pretty much came home in tears. My mom caught sight of me, and after I explained, she just said, 'Men can be demons. They'll beat you, yell at you, enslave you, or ignore you. They can also be angels, loving you more passionately than you thought a human ever could.'"

"And that taught you what?"

"To assume that men are devil spawn until they prove themselves."

"Did I do that?"

"You're still working on it." he tugged lightly on a curl, and she elbowed him.

"And what about you, asshole?"

"When I was down in the well, and my father came to get me. 'Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.'" she looked up him, then kissed his cheek lightly.

"You certainly picked yourself up." white noise from the TV then caused Audrey to jump, and Bruce laughed quietly at her. She began to get up to check what was wrong, when an image flickered onto the screen, then stabilized. She sat up, confused.

"_Hello Gotham's citizens. Remember me?_" Joker stepped onto the screen, fully clad in makeup again.

"_I bet the police have been trying very hard to hide the fact that I escaped and am back. But I am, so uh, they kind of failed at that._" he licked his lips and looked skyward for a moment.

"_Let's see... ah! Right. Since my darling Audrey Habicht has been laying fairly low, save that very public break up, since our last meeting, I'm bored. My favourite Dark Knight hasn't been actively hunting me. I'M BORED BATMAN!_" he broke out in a fit of giggles, and Bruce sat up, eyes locked onto the screen.

"_And since I'm bored, I'm going to clear up a little misconception he allowed you guys to have. Batman did not kill Harvey Dent. Well, not intentionally. Batman did not kill those other five people. In fact, Harvey went insane after Rachel died, and killed those five people. Batman was only saving Gordon's kid from Harvey and accidentally knocked him off the building. Batman has never killed anyone, as far as I am concerned. So, you wretchedly wonderful Bat, I am going to corrupt you soon. Remember that._" the feed cut out, cutting back to the news, where the newscasters looked so surprised that they looked human for once. Audrey looked at Bruce, then hit him hard in the chest. He grunted and looked at her.

"What was that for?"

"You could have told me you didn't kill anyone!"

"I never thought about it." he mumbled defensively. She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch.

"So is this a problem if everyone knows now?"

"Not a major one." he mumbled, "But now I will have people hunting me down."

"Why?"

"They want to ask for help. Joker is going to amp up whatever he is doing, and it will force people into seeking assistance." Audrey scooted off his legs, and he got up, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before moving to the door.

"See ya around, Dark Knight." she called. He chuckled then left, and Audrey stretched out the couch again, watching the reporters' faces morph back into a semblance of composure.

"_Um... that was interesting._" their eyes slid back to the camera, "_Can we call on Batman again? __Will he come to us after being betrayed by us? Is he even still here?_" the female newscaster questioned. The male snorted.

"_Are you kidding? We know he'll come back. He never left. If I'm right, Audrey Habicht probably knows the identity of Batman. No normal woman goes and does things like she's done without some experienced assistance. Batman has probably been helping her out in tough situations for a while now._" Audrey cursed and turned the TV off.

* * *

Audrey's present at the train station the fifteen days later, was three armed police officers waiting for her. Briefly, she reflected that it was a good thing she didn't bring a purse today, her ID shoved in her pocket. With a half smile, she held out her wrists, and they dutifully slapped handcuffs on her, then dragged her to the cruiser by the curb.

"Oh god. You trust me in a seat with an officer? Tisk tisk, boys." the one sitting in the back with her snorted, then pushed her in the back and slid in after her.

"We don't actually view you as a criminal, but until we figure out if Batman is still a criminal, you will be regarded as one." she rolled her eyes and leaned against the window, watching the people go by as they drove back to the station. Once there, she was pulled out of the cruiser and pushed into the building, where a ruffled looking Gordon sat in a wheel chair. His leg was in a full leg black cast, and he had a black sling over his shoulder.

"Handcuffs? Really?" he questioned.

"Following protocol." they pushed her toward interrogation, and she stumbled in her heels, then righted her balance and walked in. A chair was presented, and she sat down. A well muscled officer came in and sat on the other side of the table. She just looked at him, bored.

"Who is Batman?"

"I don't know." she shrugged, fighting back her rebellious answer. He ran a hair through his buzzed black hair.

"You do."

"Maybe he just has impeccably good timing when coming to rescue me."

"I can sit here and do this all day."

"Then let me call in to work at least so Mr. Fox knows I've been arrested." he threw a phone across the table, and she dialed her desk.

"_Hello?_" she laughed at Bruce answering her phone.

"Mr. Wayne, I will not be coming into work today. Could you tell Mr. Fox?"

"_One moment._"

"_Not coming in?_" Fox questioned, now holding the phone.

"I got arrested. I'll be in tomorrow, I swear."

"_Arrested? For what?_"

"My devious connections with criminals. See you tomorrow, Mr. Fox."

"_Goodbye Audrey._" she hung up and slid the phone back.

"How did you catch Arling Henderson?" the officer asked. She pursed her lips.

"God that was so long ago it seems. He tried to mug me, Batman dropped out of nowhere and knocked him out. He left, I dragged Arling to the hospital."

"Why didn't you report the Batman?"

"I never thought he was a bad person. That's like asking me to turn in Gordon for doing his job." the man wrote down what she said, and she let her eyes wander to a random point in the room.

"When was your second meeting with Batman?"

"A week later. My bestfriend and I were coming back from a movie and these thugs decided to try and jump us. I beat them up, but got a concussion per my luck. He found us and went to collect while I walked my friend home."

* * *

The interrogations went on for several more hours, and then they led Audrey to her cell for the night. Gordon was furious, but technically on medical leave and therefore had no authority. So he sat by her until well after midnight, when he fell asleep. She just laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. The police who worked at the main station had been spread throughout the city, and so she was at an unfamiliar place, feeling oddly like she'd done this before. She dozed off around two in the morning and was woken up at five by a rude shove to the shoulder then sent her into the wall. She winced and opened her eyes, looking up at the very black figure of Batman.

"We should spice up your uniform sometime." she commented lightly, sitting up. He pulled her roughly to her feet, and she winced at his fingers crushing a bruise on her arm.

"Get out." he pushed her toward the cell door, and she looked at him, confused.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Joker is going to light up all of the police stations in the city. He's planning to light them at dawn." she took off her heels, and smacked Gordon awake. He sat up, glancing around. His eyes focused on Audrey, then Batman behind her.

"What's going on?"

"The usual. If I scream, will everyone still here wake up?" he nodded slowly, and she covered his ears with her hands, then took a deep breath and let out an earth shattering scream that made her own ears ring. Four sets of feet pounded down stairs, and other people all around sat bolt up.

"Get out." Batman growled.

"Why should we listen to you?" someone demanded. Audrey turned to glare at the man.

"You married?"

"Twelve years."

"You want your wife to cry herself to sleep every night for the next sixth months?" he gave her a confused look, then realization dawned on his face, and he started shouting at people to get out. Someone took Gordon, and Audrey took the stairs two at a time, Bruce quickly getting in front of and stopping her.

"Go outside."

"No. I'm going to see if there is still anyone up here."

"Audrey," he growled, "Go outside." she ducked under his blocking arm and sprinted up the stairs, then slapped a still sleeping man on the chest. He jumped awake, and she gestured down the stairs. He went without a second thought, and she continued up the next set of stairs, Bruce chasing her the entire way up. Past the third floor, she got onto the roof, and Bruce slammed into her, taking her to the ground.

"Would it kill you to listen to me sometime?" he questioned, still growling.

"Yeah. It would kill my soul." the smell of smoke soon reached the two, and then the windows blew out as the inside of the building caught quickly. Neither of them moved while the building burned bellow them, and Audrey began to feel squished under his armour.

"You're going to squish me to death, love." she wheezed, partly because of the squishing and partly because of the smoke. The weight came off her, but he remained over her, glancing around.

"Audrey?!" Gordon called from the street below. She opened her mouth to respond, and only ended up coughing. Bruce put a hand over her mouth, and she winced as the blades on his forearm sliced her cheek.

"Stay down." he growled, then disappeared. She rolled onto her stomach and looked around, but for once, didn't bother with disobeying orders. A few minutes later, a hand pulled her up to her feet, and hands held her jaw softly.

"You're alright?" she nodded, and he pushed her toward a ledge.

"Jump."

"Off or across?"

"Across." she took a few steps back, then jumped, landing on her feet then coming down hard onto her knees. He pulled her back up.

"Keep going."

"Where are we going?"

"Your apartment."

"Lovely." she walked to the next ledge and jumped, grateful for living in a crowded city. The big problem came, however, when they actually got outside her apartment and she couldn't jump the gap to the fire escape. Out came the grappling gun, and then Bruce had her around the waist. He jumped and she shrieked quietly as they flew through the air and landed on the fire escape with a clang.

"Go." she ran the rest of the way down to her window and opened it, then slid inside and let out a breath, wondering just how hectic life was about to get.


	20. Chapter 20

Audrey spruced up for another day in jail. Today she just wore skinny jeans and a large tee shirt, tied back around her hips. The police knocked while she was in the middle of eating her Nutrigrain bar, and she opened the door with it sticking out of her mouth. She held out her wrists, and instead of cuffing her, they just dragged her after them. Once at the make shift station, she laughed. In fact, they pretty much were still using the burned station, just with a few less desks. Gordon's wheelchair was in the middle, the man himself texting someone. The officer's left Audrey in front of him, then walked off.

"I need a police escort now?" she questioned. He frowned at her, and she grinned.

"We need Batman."

"Well duh. Wasn't that why I was here all day yesterday?"

"We need him _right now._"

"Couldn't this have waited? He's got a life too, ya know." he handed her a cell phone.

"Call him." she rolled her eyes and walked up to the roof, charred black under her feet. She called the Manor.

"Alfred?"

"_Ms. Audrey?_"

"The Bat still home?"

"_He's in the shower. Do you need something?_"

"Interrupt. Gordon wants him." there were seconds of silence, and then the squeak of a door and the sound of a shower running.

"_Master Wayne._"

"_Alfred, what have I said about-_"

"_I have seen you naked countless times before, sir. I do not care anymore._" the butler cleared his throat, "_Ms. Audrey is on the phone. Commissioner Gordon has called for your presence._"

"_My presence or Batman's?_" Audrey laughed at Alfred's silence.

"Batman's."

"_Batman's._"

"_I'm a night creature. It's seven o'clock in the morning. Did he even think about that?_" there was a click, and then the shower was four times louder.

"He did, Bruce. I told him, he said, 'Call him.'" there was a thud, and then a groan. Audrey laughed, and Alfred chuckled.

"_I'll send him on his way in due time._" Audrey hung up, then erased the call from the list and walked back the concrete stairs. Gordon took the phone back.

"Twenty minutes." she promised. Thirty minutes later, a dark shape walked through the darkness of the building, and stopped beside them.

"Hot yet?" she questioned. He didn't even spare her a glance, and she smirked, then turned back to Gordon.

"We need to deal with Joker, _now._ He is causing too much damage."

"He's bored," Batman growled, "He'll make a move tonight."

"What kind of move? Do we need to evacuate the city, or do we need to bring in all the fire power in the country?"

"We can't evacuate the city. He'll want the most people here." Batman paused, choosing his words carefully, "His move is the same as last time. Corrupting the best of us." they both looked at Audrey, who was picking at her fingernails, "and his game is the same; to make a lawless place." she took Gordon's iPhone off his lap then, and pulled up a news feed.

"He's made his first move. It's like a game of chess, without the rules." she held up the phone, and Batman grabbed it. The bridges that led onto the island were wrought with car accidents. It appeared there was a gas being vented onto the bridge that was entering the car's AC system and causing momentary insanity. Cleanup would take hours, and more accidents were occurring by the minute.

"What do we do next?" Gordon questioned. Audrey and Batman looked at eachother, and she nodded.

"Got any gasmasks, Gordon?"

"What? I'm not going to let you go up onto a bridge-"

"You gonna stop me? Just tell me where they are. You and Batman deal with Joker, I'll deal with his schemes." Gordon grit his teeth, then pointed to a closet. She walked through the empty doorway and opened the metal box inside, grabbing a mask and hanging it around her neck before coming back. Batman threw the keys to the Tumbler at her.

"Don't fall." she moved outside and jumped through the hatch and into the vehicle, then raced through the streets, weaving between cars. People began to honk at her, then the honk died out midstream once they realized who's vehicle it was. She tore through the streets until she reached a bridge, where she slammed on the brakes. The Tumbler squealed under her and spun into a tail spin, stopping facing away from the bridge. She pulled up the mask around her nose and mouth, then got out and locked the vehicle before pocketing the keys and starting for the ladder.

"OH JESUS BATMAN IS HERE!" she snorted and pulled herself up onto the metal ladder of the large truss bridge. She could see the canister from which the gas was floating down, but – go figure – the gas was clear. The ladder creaked under her, and her eyes went wide as it broke off the side and swung out, throwing her off and onto a car. Sharp pain shot from her shoulder upon contact and she groaned, then rolled onto her back and sat up. There was a large dent in the car's roof and blood from where her skin had split. She got up and climbed to the now vertical ladder, and began climbing again, each movement of her left shoulder bringing fresh splitting pain to her mind. She reached the top and climbed onto the narrow pathway between the railings. Once on the high point of the bridge, she stood rooted to the spot. Her heart was pounding as she looked out across the beam at the canister. No doubt there was a second one on the other point, and she wasn't sure if this was the perfect time to test her acrobatic skills. She took a deep breath despite the knot of fear in her stomach, and ducked under the railing and onto the metal bar. From here, she could feel the cold beginning of Spring winds that bit through her tee shirt, and she cursed her stupidity as she dropped to her knees and straddled the bar, then pushed herself forward.

"She's going to jump!"

"Are you stupid? She's probably moving to detonate that thing there!"

"Who is that?!" she kept her eyes on the container. When she got to it, she laid down on the bar and yanked the container off, feeling herself lean dangerously to one side. Her fingers dug into the small ledge on the bar and she pulled herself upright. Container firmly under one arm, she scooted herself backward until she ran into the metal railing, then ducked through and chucked the container out into the river. She waited for it to splash down, then began walking on shaky legs down into the valley between peaks. The upward again journey was not so easy, and she had to stop once at the top to regain her breath from the nearly forty five degree slant walked. Once again, she ducked under the railing and straddled the bar, then scooted herself toward. Only this time, when she pulled off the container, her slightly uneven strength managed to send her completely over the side. In the blink of an eye, she found herself clinging to the underside of the bar, holding on for dear life as her terror raged inside of her like a hurricane. Clammy palms gripped at her wrists, arms wrapped around the bar, and she tried to swing herself back over. Upon that idea failing, she stared furiously at the bar in front of her face, trying to solve her problem. The container was flying into the water, and gibberish in front of her was hindering her ability to focus.

Audrey's eyes widened as she focused on the gibberish and realized exactly what it said.

"Why so serious?" she breathed, then slowly began pushing herself back to the railing. After ten agonizingly slow minutes, she reached the railing and hooked her legs around it, then used the bar to push herself up into a sitting position. After catching her breath, she stood and ducked under the railing, then began the trek back to the Tumbler. Once there, she found Batman leaning against it, watching her. She threw the keys at him.

"Impatient much? I almost died up there." she gestured toward the second peak, and he just opened the hatch.

"Fine then. Don't care about the fact that I could be dead right now. I'll just go climbing across bridges another four times since _we still have two more bridges to go._" she jumped into her seat and the hatch closed immediately after.

"You're alright?"

"Those are going to be the only two words I hear out of your mouth directed at me for the next two days, aren't they." she could almost see him smirk, and rolled her eyes, then pulled off the gas mask and let it hang around her neck.

"I'm leaving you at the second bridge and taking the Tumbler to another incident in the middle of town. Try not to die." she snorted, then began to climb out when he opened the hatch. He shot away as soon as her feet were on the pavement, and she pulled up the mask as she walked to the side of the arch bridge. It was essentially flat, with steel arch supports underneath. Where the container was, she had no idea. She walked along the side, watching people get out of their cars and scream at eachother about the wrecks they were _still _getting into. Cursing as she patrolled the entire bridge, she then climbed over the side and slid down the rocks toward the river bank. Then she spotted the container, and withheld a frustrated scream. Instead, she went for the support beams and began monkeying on unsteady feet until she was directly below. There was a fan attached to a battery pack blowing the gas up through a hole that had been drilled into the asphalt and concrete. She hit the fan hard with her fist, snapping the fan part straight off and leaving just the base and the battery. Seconds after, while she tore at the container, she began to feel minor effects, she assumed. She got the container and dropped it into the water, then stayed still to recoup a moment. It looked like there were diamonds shining in the asphalt and that the water was a giant mirror. Even more frightening to her was how appealing that mirror began to look after a few seconds. She felt her hands loosening their grip, legs sliding apart and then just held her breath as she plunged into the icy waters. The shock of the just above freezing water snapped her back to her senses as she kicked through the murky green back to the surface. The cold bite of the air was amplified, making shivers go down her body as she swam back to the bank to pull herself out. Everything looked razor sharp now that she'd been shocked back into awareness.

Audrey yanked herself out of the water and onto the rocks, then up onto the bridge. People were still freaking out, but seemed to be calming down as she watched. Letting out a hefty sigh, she looked to the last bridge. To her horror, as she watched, the concrete rainbow arch bridge seemed to buckle inward, then blow outward, spewing cars and concrete everywhere. For a few seconds, she couldn't pull her eyes away from the mass homicide. Once she did, she felt despair in her gut as she ran for the police station. Ten minutes later and asthma kicking in full force, she ran through the empty door gasping and skid to a halt before Gordon.

"Give me a walky talky, and tell me what to do." someone tossed a small, sturdy handheld at her, and she clipped it onto a belt loop.

"You know where Batman went?"

"Center of down to investigate an incident."

"Good. That means he's doing what he told us. Habicht, as of now, you are an honourary member of the police force." Gordon handed her a gun and holster that she unwillingly strapped onto her thigh.

"You are going to report to me directly for instructions. I'm going to the hospital now, you'll come with me."

"The hospital?" she questioned as she pushed his wheelchair out to a cruiser of which she took the keys off a rack.

"My six weeks in a leg cast are up. We'll see if I can get this sling off." she nodded and helped him into the passenger seat of the car, then folded up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk, before getting in the driver's side.

"Sirens." was all he said. She grinned maniacally as she started the car, then hit the sirens and tore out of the parking lot. Seven minutes of mind numbing lane changes and speed limit breaking later, she pulled up and parked at a meter spot, then got out and got the wheelchair. Gordon sat down in it, and she locked the car before pushing him quickly into the hospital.

"I have to say, wheelchair races would be _so _much fun." she commented on the way to the elevator. He reached back and smacked her, and she giggled then hit the button for floor six.

Twenty minutes later, Gordon was cast and sling free with explicit instructions to avoid running for longer then two minutes at any given time, and no lifting. Clearly, his doctor knew that today was not a day to be unable. They got back in the car, and Audrey stuck the keys back in the ignition.

"Where to, Commissioner Gordon?" she questioned. He surveyed the area through the windshield and windows.

"Go to the Ewing Building."

"Sirens?" he nodded, and she took off, going well over seventy the entire time, swerving to avoid cars and pedestrians, who jumped out of her way. They stopped outside the Ewing Building, bumper to bumper with the Tumbler. On the building, was a flaming lack of windows in the shape of the Bat symbol. Batman was nowhere to be seen. Audrey got out and stood on the asphalt, looking at the flaming bat. As she watched, more fiery words lit up just above and below the bat.

"Why so serious?" Gordon stated and questioned the words. Audrey scowled.

"As if it weren't obvious, this is Joker's doing. He won't do much until the sun goes down." Gordon looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because he's a psychopath? And you forced Batman out of his natural time. He's not used to working in daylight, not with quite so many people around."

"So why does that mean Joker will wait?"

"He wants us all at our fullest strength. Gordon, if your leg starts to hurt-" he shot what could only be called his death glare at Audrey. She shut up.

"I know my limits, and you're not my daughter. Don't worry about me." and as if this day could get any weirder, a woman about Audrey's age with bright blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes ran up to her and started speaking in fast, scared English with a thick German accent. Gordon looked at her with wide eyes as she concentrated on the woman's words.

"You are the polica. Can you help me?" Audrey's eyes closed as she translated the frantic German.

"I can try. Show me." Gordon gave her the oddest look, and she smiled at him.

"I took German throughout high school because it was a weird language. The accents are actually kind of fun." the woman ran off, and Audrey followed, shouting behind her, "Husband stuck in car. Come on!" after a timid second, Gordon followed her, starting slow and building up to speed. Audrey and the German stopped in front of a parking garage.

"It ist up here." she pointed. Audrey frowned.

"Why is your husband stuck?" Audrey questioned slowly, so the woman could understand. The woman bounced up and down in her shoes, obviously trying to think of the right word in English.

"Is a... street light? They tall, hang light off?" she frowned, but followed, Gordon keeping pace behind her. Sure enough on the third floor, there was a small BMW Series 5 Sedan, crushed under a street light. Gordon, despite his doctor's orders, joined Audrey and the German in rolling the light off the crushed roof off the car onto the cement. Audrey yanked open the driver's side door, and a man fell against her, maybe about thirty. She dragged him out onto the cement, then checked his pulse. It was definitely there.

"There's a hospital down the street. Can you get him there?" she questioned the woman. She nodded, and grabbed her husband under the armpits heaved him up onto her back. Audrey watched her go with pity.

"Let's get back down to the ground." Gordon instructed, and began walking. She followed obediently.

"Why?"

"You and heights don't seem to get along today, or so I've heard." she socked him lightly in the shoulder.

"Don't try me, old man. I can survive a fall better than you."

"Then what the hell happened here?" he questioned, gesturing to the blood on her shoulder.

"I fell on a car roof." she shrugged like it meant nothing, and he shook his head.

"I can see why Batman gets possessive. Do you care about your own well being?" she laughed.

"Pshaa. No." she grinned and then was surprised by how fast he moved downhill.

"Fast much?" she questioned. Gordon laughed.

"Not enough muscle to slow down." Audrey only managed half a laugh before something hard struck the back of her head.


	21. Chapter 20 and a half

**Previous chapter from Bruce's POV - Just so you know.**

Bruce did not sleep well that night. He didn't really sleep well any night, since Audrey and him broke up the first time. It seemed like such a juvenile term to describe what had happened between them, but if fit accurately. They had broken apart due to his stubbornness. And now, his uncertainty about the future kept him up all hours of the night. The only night he'd gotten real sleep had been the night when him and Audrey became intimate. After that, his anxiety got worse.

So now, on this beautifully cloudy Saturday morning, he could only keep thinking of how many things could have gone wrong a few hours ago when the station caught fire. Had he not gotten there in time, they all would have died. Had he not gotten there in time, Audrey would have been put through one of the most excruciatingly painful deaths he could think of. Had the fire been enough to burn the supports of the building, both him and Audrey could be in the hospital or dead.

Feelings like this did not sit well with the playboy Bruce Wayne.

It sat even worse with the committed relationship Bruce Wayne.

And worst of all, it nearly killed the about to be engaged Bruce Wayne.

When Bruce's alarm went off at seven, commencing Audrey's rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, he dutifully rolled, literally, out of bed and onto the hardwood floor. He stood up, then fell to his hands and toes, commencing his morning workout routine of one hundred push ups. One hundred burning push ups later, he stood up and grabbed his towel, heading for the shower. There was no set plan for the day, it was a Saturday, and therefore, he didn't really know what to do. Had there been work, he'd go there. Had there been an Audrey in his life, he'd go there. So, he resolved on going to see if Fox had his stun gun made yet. It wasn't especially his, but rather made for Audrey so she could cease with the injuries. The design was rather Star Trek like, Fox had commented, and made him feel like it should have a kill setting as well.

God forbid Audrey ever used the kill setting.

Ten minutes into the shower, the door opened wide with a squeak.

"Master Wayne." Bruce made a slightly annoyed face at the wall.

"Alfred, what have I said about-"

"I have seen you naked countless times before, sir. I do not care anymore." Alfred cleared his throat then, and Bruce could almost swear that the old butler could see him through the curtain, "Ms. Audrey is on the phone. Commissioner Gordon has called for your presence." this had Bruce slightly confused.

"My presence or Batman's?" he questioned. Alfred's silence made it obvious that he didn't know. There was a static crackle, like from a phone.

"Batman's." the butler finally answered. Bruce withheld a sigh.

"I'm a night creature. It's seven o'clock in the morning. Did he even think about that?" there was a click, and then the sound of activity emanated from what was now obviously a phone.

"_He did, Bruce. I told him, he said, 'Call him.'_" Audrey's voice came through loud and clear, surprising Bruce who was leaning backward to move the curtain so he could see Alfred. In the aftermath of his surprise, he slipped and came down hard in the tub part, and let out a groan. There was a very familiar and heart warming laugh from the other line, and Alfred let out an amused chuckle.

"I'll send him on his way in due time." the call ended, and Alfred was silent a moment while Bruce picked himself up.

"You have twenty minutes sir. Pick up the pace." the door closed, and Bruce finished quickly, exiting the bathroom with nothing but a towel riding low on his hips. He pulled on a black tee shirt and boxer briefs, then slid down to the Bat cave and geared up in the suit, taking his full allotted twenty minutes. Alfred came to yell at him just as he got onto the Tumbler. Upon seeing that Bruce was on schedule, the butler instead threw Bruce's cell phone into the vehicle.

"Don't let Audrey get killed."

"You don't have to tell me." he responded, commencing his use of the growl for the day. The hatch closed above him, and the engine roared the life, propelling the vehicle through the waterfall and onto the dirt road that lead to Gotham. Ten minutes later, he swerved to a halt, spinning out the tail end of the Tumbler so it was parked perfectly beside the burned building, then got out and walked inside. Audrey, wearing perfectly snug skinny jeans and a huge tee shirt that Bruce vaguely recognized as one of his, gave him a coy smile.

"Hot yet?" he fought to keep a bubble of laughter back. It was a problem he hadn't had until he met Audrey. Instead, he kept his eyes on Gordon. Her coy smile turned into a smirk at his perfect lack of response, and she too faced Gordon.

"We need to deal with Joker, _now. _He is causing too much damage."

"He's bored," Bruce growled, seeming to sense a little less formality in his tone than desired, "He'll make a move tonight."

"What kind of move?" Gordon questioned. It was strange to see him crippled, "Do we need to evacuate the city, or do we need to bring in all the fire power in the country?"

"We can't evacuate the city. He'll want the most people here." the wording was wrong, but he couldn't fix it. He was Batman. His words were final. "His move is the same as last time. Corrupting the best of us." both he and Gordon look to Audrey, who was picking at her fingernails, trying not to butt in. "and his game is the same; to make a lawless place." Audrey took Gordon's iPhone and did something, then turned it to show Bruce.

"He's made his first move. It's like a game of chess, without the rules." Bruce took it and read the article. The article reported of all three of the bridges spanning the river had dozens of car accidents each, with the numbers growing by the minute. People who had gotten off reported a gas with a taste different than air that was being vented onto the bridge and coming through the AC system. Usually it was momentary insanity as an effect, unless you had prolonged exposure.

"What do we do next?" Gordon questioned. Bruce looked at Audrey, forcing himself to remember that she knew her limits and wouldn't go farther than she could. Audrey nodded, seeming pleased with his lack of disapproval.

"Got any gasmasks, Gordon?"

"What?" Gordon looked astounded, "I'm not going to let you go up onto a bridge-"

"You gonna stop me?" the older man looked pained at the reminder of his physical status, "Just tell me where they are. You and Batman deal with Joker, I'll deal with his schemes." Gordon scowled, then pointed to a closet. Audrey disappeared, and Gordon looked at Bruce.

"We need to talk." Audrey returned, and Bruce tossed her the keys.

"Don't fall." she was gone again, and Bruce faced Gordon full on, giving the man his full attention.

"You look different in daylight." the officer commented, then closed his eyes for a moment to recall what he was supposed to be talking about.

"You, despite the facade of no emotion, have romantic feelings for Habicht." it wasn't a question, Gordon was too smart for that. Had it been a question, there would be no answer. Bruce knew that was too personal to divulge.

"I'm not going to get in between you, her, and Bruce Wayne, but remember where your loyalties lie, and where her loyalties lie. Everyone else may think that their breakup was for real, but I know better than that. I don't care if you are the saviour of Gotham, you will not get in the way of her happiness." Bruce just looked at him, and he felt the crack in his facade before Gordon reacted to the smug smile that was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"You're tuned into the network, no doubt. You'll wait here until we find something that requires your level of assistance." Bruce kept his face passive, hiding his discomfort at being stationary. It was better to remain active to keep him from worrying about Audrey. Gordon wheeled himself around the room, keeping tabs on all of the mayhem Joker was causing. Both men knew that this was only Joker's warm up.

Twenty five minutes of complete motionlessness later, Gordon found something.

"Someone's burning a shape into the Ewing Building. Go check on Habicht, then head there." Bruce was gone, up the stairs and to the roof without second thought. He cleared the gaps between buildings easily, feeling his muscles warm up as his did so, crossing town quickly and rather silently toward the first bridge, and the one Audrey was most likely to get killed on. As predicted, the Tumbler sat at the base of the beginning of the bridge. Bruce stood beside it, watching Audrey hanging upside down from a cross beam of the bridge. She began to scoot backward toward the railing, then hauled herself up into a sitting position and got back on the path. He let out a tense breath and waited for her to come back to the Tumbler. She made one of her many familiar faces and threw the keys at him. He caught them with ease.

"Impatient much? I almost died up there." he saw her gesture toward the second peak, and opened the hatch. He was in Batman mode, and all emotions, even to her, were to be hidden.

"Fine then. Don't care about the fact that I could be dead right now. I'll just go climbing across bridges another four times since _we still have two more bridges to go_." there was an edge of anger to her voice as she climbed into her seat. He closed the hatch as soon as her hands were clear.

"You're alright?" he questioned, seeming to find those to be the only appropriate words.

"Those are going to be the only to words I hear out of your mouth directed at me for the next two days, aren't they." he fought back a smirk at how close to home she was, and she rolled her eyes then pulled down her gas mask and let it hang.

"I'm leaving you at the second bridge and taking the Tumbler to another incident in the middle of town. Try not to die." Audrey snorted, rather unladylike, and climbed out when he opened the hatch. As soon as she was out, the hatch was down and he was roaring off to the Ewing Building. Once there, he got out of the Tumbler and looked up at the Bat symbol burned into the side of the building. A scowl formed on his mind, but was kept from his lips as he locked the Tumbler up and stalked inside the building. It was very similar to the Wayne Tower in general appearance, but not so much in the feel of the building. The colours were dark and foreboding, lobby horrendously impersonal. Had there been people inside, he would have expected them to be wearing almost identical clothing.

He walked silently through the emergency exit door, then looked up the somewhat spiral staircase, and raised his grappling gun up and shot it off. The hook latched onto a top railing, and he flew upward, landing gracefully at the top. After reeling in the hook, he went straight through the upper exit door and walked onto the level at the heart of the burned Bat symbol. Joker stood in the center of it, outlined in a glow of daylight streaming through the windowless wall. Bruce stayed ten feet from the door, and twenty from Joker. Joker turned his painted smile on Batman, and released the head of hair he was holding. The woman slumped to the floor and lay sniffling in a heap. After a second, Bruce recognized the mocha coloured skin and black hair, along with the shrewd sense of style similar to Audrey's.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come, Batman. I was going to throw Audrey's friend off the building. Good thing you saved her." Bruce kept his eyes trained in Joker's face.

"Ms. White." Jayden looked up, exposing a blindingly swollen eye, a split lip, and a dark bruise blooming on her cheekbone. She scrambled to her feet and made her way as quickly as she could being half blind.

"Protecting your woman's friends? How sweet." Joker cooed. Bruce held his gaze.

"Audrey is not my woman." _She'll never be tamed by any man._

"Oh?"

"All this accomplishes is deepening her vendetta against you." Joker laughed.

"Good. Give her some motive to come hunt me down." Bruce briefly glanced at Jayden.

"Go down the stairs to the ground floor." he instructed. She disappeared, and the two men squared off.

"You like to put on that cold, hard mask, but I can still see emotion in you. I, however, don't find Bruce Wayne to be interesting. Your real identity is much too boring." at this Bruce stiffened slightly, and Joker laughed.

"You thought I didn't know? How odd. Surely you should have guessed. I mean, it's not like I just disappeared after scaring Audrey. I saw you two snuggle into bed together. I saw her leave a few weeks ago. Nasty break up, was it?" Bruce actually had to work at keeping his face passive. Joker frowned and stepped closer.

"No reaction? What, did she break your heart?" Joker took another few steps closer.

"Did _you_ break _her_ heart?" he questioned. Bruce took this opportunity to strike out, slamming a closed fist into Joker's jaw, sending the insane man stumbling backward. Joker laughed.

"I hit a nerve, did I? Don't worry, I won't jeopardize your chances of reviving the relationship. Your identity is safe with me. After all, it-" Bruce hit him again, trying to knock him down with pure force, "Let me finish. It would do me no good to have my most fun rival arrested." Joker stood up straight and slapped his chest playfully.

"Come at me, Batman." Bruce just watched, letting Joker work himself up until he made the first move. The madman dove at Bruce, flying fists slamming into armor and doing nothing. Bruce quickly had his wrists locked painfully behind him. Bruce forced him down to his knees, and Joker just laughed.

"That was fun. We should do that again."

"What are your plans?" Bruce growled. Joker didn't respond, and Bruce pressed his arm flatter against his back. His cry of pain turned into more laughter.

"Plans? Since when do I plan?" Bruce shoved Joker's face into the cement, and as his head came an inch up, blood poured from his nose.

"Now that was rude. Why so violent?" Bruce just watched him, and Joker sighed.

"If you need to know, Phase Two is already in motion."

"Phase Two?"

"Just wait a few minutes." Bruce moved to slam his face again, and to his surprise, Joker flinched.

"What is Phase Two?"

"I said wait a few minutes. Jeez, impatient much?" Bruce pulled the criminal roughly to his feet and dragged him down the stairs to the main floor. Once outside, he found a cruiser parked bumper to bumper with the Tumbler. Resisting the urge to shake his head, he opened the door, surprisingly unlocked, and tossed Joker inside. Joker sat patiently in the back as Bruce turned to look around. He didn't doubt that the cruiser was Audrey and Gordon, but where had they gone? A loud crack sounded in an adjacent parking garage, and then Joker's knuckles wrapped on the window. Bruce looked back at him, and Joker pointed a long finger at the garage.

"Keep your eyes on the garage." he advised. Bruce glanced back up in time to see Gordon coming sprinting out of the garage, now out of his cast, and toward the front of the building. He caught sight of Bruce then, and swerved toward him, coming to a slow halt, panting heavily.

"What happened?" he questioned. Gordon held up a hand while he recovered his breath.

"Audrey." Bruce froze, watching his old friend with an intensity new to Gordon.

"What about her?"

"A German woman... came to ask for help... we helped get the... pole off the car... and then she was... gone."

"Why were you heading for the building?"

"To get you... or to find her."

"They went inside?"

"Sounded like."

"Watch him." Bruce stalked off toward the building.

"Batman!" he stopped and looked back at Gordon.

"She can handle herself."

"Not always." he responded, disappearing into the dark building. Several dozen dark flights of stairs later, and he was back up onto the burned out floor. One of Audrey's tennis shoes lay on it's top, directed toward another door on the far side of the room. He looked at it briefly, wondering three things. One, how much of a fight Audrey had to put up to get her shoe to fall off, two, how the person got up here before him, and three, if Audrey would need that shoe later. He picked up the shoe absently, then moved swiftly through the doors and into the next stairwell. He flew upward again, and came face to face with an idiot dressed in all black, huffing and puffing his way up the stairs. Bruce landed a solid fist to the man's nose, breaking it cleanly and sending him down a flight of stairs. The man lay groaning on the ground, and Bruce jumped down the flight of stairs, landing a mere foot away. The man sat up, scared, into a corner, and Bruce gladly took up the offensive position.

"Where is she?" he demanded. The man flinched, hands rising to protect his face if need be.

"I-i-i-I don't know man! They just told me to run!" Bruce cursed inwardly and turned away jumping straight back down the center of the stairs. Once back on the burned out floor, he jumped straight through the window, cloth wings expanding as he did so and becoming rigid. Free fall gave way to gliding as he dropped to the ground, landing beside Gordon, who jumped and looked at him.

"Where did you come from?"

"She's not in there. They're taking her somewhere else."

"Where?" Bruce said nothing, stalking toward the Tumbler.

"You don't know? How can you not know!" he called after him. Bruce jumped into the Tumbler and looked at Gordon.

"Nothing to do with Audrey Habicht is logical." the hatch shut, and the Tumbler roared backward, then took off down the street.

"_Station, Gordon._" his voice came over the radio. Gordon closed his eyes briefly, then slid into the drivers seat and cursed loudly, picking up the handheld.

"Audrey has the keys."

"_Hotwire it._"

"A police cruiser? Are you mad?" there was silence, and Gordon shook his head, ducking down and pulling out wires from the bottom.


	22. Chapter 21

By the time Gordon had gotten the cruiser hotwired and made it to the station, Bruce had become impatient almost, standing rigidly with an air of anxiety.

"I thought you were going to find her?"

"It'll be impossible. There are still more bridges that will be targeted." _And I can't value her life over many.__  
_

"Gordon, you'll wanna see this." a young officer in a back office called. Gordon moved swiftly, Bruce on his heels the entire way into the office. On screen, someone was screwing with a camera in a dark room.

"That's good." a voice said. A second, small screen popped up covering a fourth of the entire screen Joker's face appeared, obviously being a prior recording.

"Well, I should be in police custody right about now, so this is the time to do this. Gotham, I've got one of your heroes." a light in the room light up, and there was Audrey, tied to a chair and very unconscious. Blood slicked her forehead and a dark bruise was blooming on her cheekbone.

"She's not very stunning when unconscious. I've seen it before. Anyway, the other hero should currently be occupied with watching this or treating the symptoms of this cancer I'm spreading. People of Gotham, I want only one thing from you. If a single person escapes, I will blow the transformer for the entire city. I know how well people like you deal without electricity, especially at night." Bruce clenched his hands silently, then turned from the room and out toward the cells where Joker was sitting, picking at his fingernails. They let him inside without a thought, and Bruce's hand wrapped firmly around Joker's neck. Joker choked, then laughed.

"You don't scare me. You won't kill me, because you need me to find Audrey. You need me to not wreck the city."

"What are your plans?" Bruce growled. Joker shook his head, flinging bloodied ends of hair at Bruce. Bruce slammed him back against the bars, and Joker let out a strange, animalistic choking noise.

"I found a way to corrupt you." he gurgled laughingly.

"What are your plans?" he growled again.

"You'd kill me for her wouldn't you? You would completely disregard your rules." Bruce's fingers tightened on Joker's neck.

"This is fun, so I'll give you a hint at my plans. While you're busy treating the symptoms of the chaos I've created, you'd be better off finding the actual root of the problem."

"That's you."

"Ah ah! The root is something that is going to happen."

"Where?" Bruce demanded.

"Hm... where was it again?" Bruce prepared to slam him against the bars again.

"I believe it was an apartment building." Bruce brutally slammed Joker back against the bars, effectively knocking him out. He turned and stalked out of the room to meet Gordon, who watched him with careful eyes.

"You alright?"

"How many apartment buildings are there in Gotham?" Bruce questioned, completely disregarding his senior's question.

"At least twenty. Why?"

"We need men at every single apartment building in the city."

"Most of our men are going out to the bridges."

"He's going to blow the transformer regardless." Bruce pointed out. Gordon's nose twitched.

"If I don't send people out there, he may blow it sooner. We need electricity as long as possible." Bruce's hands clenched again as he thought quickly.

"How many are left?"

"About thirty." to Gordon's surprise, he heard the beginning of a curse of Bruce's lips before he managed to silence himself.

"Find out exactly how many buildings there are, and assign a man to every single one. Tell them to search for anything out of the ordinary. Ask for help from the residents." Bruce turned swiftly, cape fanning out behind him.

"Where are you going?" Gordon called.

"Audrey's apartment." Bruce left quickly, jumping into the Tumbler and speeding off to the familiar complex. Once there, he moved back out into daylight, then into the building. The desk lady stared at him as he raced up the stairs to Audrey's floor, then kicked in the door. It broke with a loud snap that resonated off the walls. He took two steps inside, then struck out with his fist at one man inside, nailing him in the jugular and sending him backward. Bruce grabbed his face with one hand and slammed his head back into the counter, sending him off to La La Land.

"Fred?" a voice called from Audrey's room. Bruce beat the second man easily, and sat on his back, arm twisted painfully behind him.

"What are you looking for?" he demanded.

"We were lookin' for something special of hers."

"What!" Bruce reiterated, voice rising in volume.

"Anything that she values! Said to look for her mother's ring or anything of Wayne's!" Bruce hit him hard in the base of the neck, then turned and left the building quickly. Minutes later he was at the Wayne Manor and racing toward the front door, where Alfred was just leaving.

"Master Wayne?"

"Where is the ring, Alfred?"

"Still in the safe, sir. What is going on?" Bruce flew through the house to his room and the safe, which he opened quickly and then grabbed the small black box inside. He flipped it open, then shut it and hid it inside his armor. He moved back downstairs, then back toward the door, quickly incapacitating the four men coming through the door and handcuffing them to the door.

"Master Wayne!"

"Helping Audrey." he shouted behind him, then climbed back into the Tumbler. As he drove, he only then realised how irrationally he'd acted. After a few minutes, he managed to justify his actions with the knowledge that the ring being stolen could make him snap.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts and took a sharp turn back into Gotham.

"_Batman._"

"What?" he bit back his sentence to only one word as he realized the growl was missing.

"_Joker's got another message for you, but it doesn't make sense to me._" Bruce kept in his question, waiting for Gordon to just continue. There was static for a few more moments, then an obvious recording off the end of the broadcast that he'd skipped out on.

"**_I know what you just did, Batman. Don't you think that was a little out of character? This one woman has completely destroyed your impartiality._**" another click sounded, and Bruce stayed silent, fingers gripping the wheel tight enough that his bones protested.

"_Batman?_"

"Is he still in his cell?"

"_There was a brief power outage. When the lights came back, he was gone._" Bruce stretched his fingers, trying to keep his anger at bay.

"We can't get him back. I'm going back to the Ewing Building." Gordon cut the connection, and Bruce took a hard right to get to the building, Audrey's words playing over and over in his head. _The city needs you, more than they need me._ _This is not the end of us. But I can't be the reason we lose perhaps the only person who can take Joker down. _

The Tumbler squealed as he came to a halt in front of the Ewing Building, where a woman stood, bouncing up and down on her toes. Her hair was braided back into pigtails, and she looked something between worried and anxious. He parked and jumped out. She looked at him, then took a cautious step backward.

"You a bad man?" she questioned.

"The blond woman who helped you earlier. Have you seen her since?" she frowned.

"I speak little English. Could you say different?" she questioned, her accent becoming thicker as she got confused.

"Yellow hair. Blue eyes. Woman. Did you see her?" realisation lit up the woman's eyes, and a soft look graced her features, erasing the confusion completely.

"Man bat?" she questioned. He nodded. The woman pointed up the Ewing Building, at the top.

"Eine Pistole drop down from top fifteen minutes before. Good woman go up twenty minutes before." she replied in her broken English, thinking slowly to choose the closest words.

"Danka." he moved toward the building.

"She your love?" the woman called. Bruce looked back.

"No." the woman smiled coyly, like she could see right through his lie.

"She a good person. Save." he turned and disappeared into the dark of the building. He rocketed himself up the first four dozen flights of stairs and onto the burned floor. He remembered Audrey's shoe, sitting in the Tumbler, than continued upward. Another set of that later, and he reached the top floor, where lo and behold, it was pitch black. He took four silent steps into the room, then moved silently to a wall.

"Where. The fuck. Did he go?" a shaking voice questioned. Bruce's eyes locked onto the vague spot the voice came from, and he started toward the man, pulling his feet out from under him and dragging him off into a corner of the room where he knocked the man out.

"What just happened?"

"He got Josh." someone breathed. Bruce moved to another side of the room and grabbed another person.

"Holy. Shit."

"There's still three more of us man. Chill out. He can't get us all." Bruce smirked, then ninja rolled forward and into the center of the three, taking them all out with one clean blow to the back of the head. He then groped for a gun and shot out the windows he knew were there. Light flooded into the room, and Bruce took in the still unconscious Audrey in the chair. He broke the camera sitting in front of her, then knelt down.

"Audrey." his hand cradled her cheek, pulling her head upright. Her eyes moved beneath her eyelids.

"Wake up." she didn't move again, and he stood up, investigating the bruise on her forehead which was turning a dark purple. He probed at it, and Audrey inhaled a sharp breath. Her head straightened up and she glanced around, but kept silent. Bruce pulled her head back a little bit, and she jumped.

"You probably have a concussion." her gaze connected with Bruce's and the longer she looked, the worse a feeling he felt.

"Who...?" she questioned. His stomach dropped completely, and his face went blank. Instead of responding, he cut the ropes binding her wrists and ankles, then pulled her up. The door opened, and white smoke flooded the room. Bruce gripped Audrey's wrists. Quickly, she was yanked away from him. By the time the smoke cleared, the room was empty again. He cursed loudly, then jumped from the shattered window and free fell for thirty seconds before opening his wings and slowly until he touched down. He got in the Tumbler and sat for nearly ten minutes, processing and keeping anger at bay.

"Call Alfred." a ringing sounded twice.

"_Yes, Master Wayne?_"

"What do you know about retrograde amnesia and blunt force trauma to the head?" Alfred was silent for a moment.

"_Putting the two together is not good. It usually will result in permanent loss of the memories forgotten._" Bruce's fist connected with the wheel and his knuckles cracked painfully upon contact. A split second later, his anger simmered down into a flash of regret at having lost control of himself.

"_What happened?_"

"I found Audrey. Bruised on her forehead. When she woke up, she didn't recognize me."

"_Bring her to me._"

"She's gone, Alfred." Alfred fell silent for a few minutes this time.

"_When you find her, be careful. She'll be like a lost child. She may have a concussion to her temporal lobe, in which her memories will come back given time or if triggered. Hope and pray, Master Wayne._" Alfred hung up, and Bruce took a deep breath, then called Gordon.

"Audrey's alright." were his opening words. Gordon let out a sigh of relief.

"_You have her?_"

"I'll get her back." he swore.

"_Do you have any leads on where they took her?_" Bruce glared out the front.

"No." there was silence for a few moments.

"_Come back to the station. Someone here is asking for you._"

"Who?"

"_Lucius Fox._" Bruce hung up and the Tumbler roared to life as he took off for the station. Outside, Fox's modest car was parked just outside the building. Bruce practically flew from the Tumbler and inside. Fox was resting on a makeshift desk, and nodded at Bruce as he entered.

"I hear you're having some problems tracking Joker down." Bruce just looked at him.

"What Joker doesn't know, is that while he was at the asylum, a tracker was implanted into him while he was unconscious. They mistook me for a police officer and asked if we wanted the partner to his tracker. I said yes for you." Fox handed over a small, cell phone like object. It was entirely a screen, showing the streets and buildings of Gotham. Essentially a GPS. Bruce looked up, knowing Fox wasn't done.

"Mr. Batman, it's eight o'clock in the morning and you're nocturnal. Go home and sleep. You've screwed up Joker's plans enough during the daylight." Bruce and Fox locked eyes, and Bruce tried to think of some reason, any reason, to stay and continue looking for Audrey.

"If she does have retrograde amnesia, it's best to give her time to remember anyway. She may be able to get herself our of whatever situation she is in if she can." Bruce growled.

"Retrograde amnesia?" Gordon questioned.

"Audrey didn't recognize me." Bruce almost mumbled, instead managing to keep his voice flat and hard. Gordon looked at him.

"We're screwed. Go back to your cave, Batman. Call Mr. Wayne while you're at it and tell him about Audrey." Fox snorted, and Bruce turned on his heel and left. Gordon gave an odd look to Fox who just shook his head.

"You've still got some things to figure out, Commissioner Gordon." Fox left.

Bruce got back to the manor and undressed, then began a session of stress relief, standing only in basketball shorts and taped fists, then wailing on a sandbag. Alfred came in some two hours in with four bottles of water and food. Bruce barely glanced at him.

"Bloodying your fists will not bring her back or make her remember, Master Wayne." he pointed out. Bruce kept his face expressionless. Alfred set down his items.

"I realize you're upset over losing her when you almost had her, but if you break down now, you won't get her back." Bruce continued, slamming fist after fist into the sandbag. Finally, Alfred threw a water bottle at his head. Bruce stopped and looked at him.

"Ow."

"Shape up! You can't lose your head over something this small. Save your anger for Joker, save your anger for the hunt tonight. You need to harness it. Make Joker regret that he ever angered you, sir." Alfred paused, adding the sir in hindsight to make the scolding more appropriate.

"Audrey may have forgotten you. She may have forgotten me, forgotten her best friend. Her body, however, is still in prime condition and has reflexes almost as good as yours. Her mind may not remember, but her body will and can protect her." Alfred turned to leave, only stopping at the door.

"Get some sleep Master Wayne. You don't want to be beaten tonight." Bruce watched Alfred leave, then ate the meal and drank the water, unable to deny the logic in Alfred's words.


	23. Chapter 22

**Yes, I am posting a day early on purpose. I'm going on vacation for the next 8 days, so updating is going to be pretty impossible. The next update'll probably be late. Sawrie peeps.**

Audrey, upon waking up the second time, was even more confused than before. She barely remembered waking up the first time, and she couldn't put a name to the masked bat she saw either. In this new room, with soft beige carpeting and deep maroon coloured walls, there was two doorways, one straight ahead and one to the right. Behind her, she figured, there was a window. A shadow of her and the chair was cast in front of her and it was a dim shadow at that. Probably night time. In another room, she heard the sounds of a television and in yet another room she heard quiet conversation. Almost an argument. Zipties cut into her skin and held her wrists to the folding chair she was situated on. Her ankles were also ziptied to the chair legs.

"Hey, hey it's on!" a voice from the TV room called.

"What is?" one voice from the other room called.

"Boss said the police were going to make a statement and Batman might appear on TV."

"Move it or lose it." a second voice said from the non TV room. Footsteps sounded into the TV room, and Audrey listened closely, curious about this Batman. Was the Batman they spoke of the same she'd seen earlier? She couldn't think of anything else that would be called Batman.

"_The city of Gotham and it's people know me as Police Commissioner Gordon. Closer people know me as James. Batman knows me as his first ally in the fight against crime. Tonight, I'm just another citizen in this insane city we call home. A few years ago, a criminal only known by his alias Joker came to the city and terrorized us, turning one of the best and brightest of us into a criminal as well. Joker is back, and you all know it. We've got ourselves a new Dent, and we've got ourselves Batman. However, I need help from you citizens as well. Shortly here, Joker is going to blow the transformer to the city and plunge us into a blackout. You cannot panic. You cannot flee. Just stay in your homes and wait it out. We're doing what we can to deal with this._" the achingly familiar voice stopped, and then another achingly familiar voice followed it.

"_The lives of every person in Gotham have been flipped countless times by the madmen who inhabit. Still, all of you persevere. Continue to persevere._" laughter bust out in the TV room.

"Batman doesn't sound like Batman. What's got his undies in a bunch?" one of the men questioned.

"Probably the fact that we have his partner in crime and she can't remember a god damn thing." Audrey's eyes dropped to the floor. She was the person they spoke of, the partner in crime - unless they had another woman in the house, but that was highly unlikely. If she was the partner, that meant this Batman whom she saw earlier was her friend in saving this city they spoke of. What he'd said to her before sounded fond and personal. She must've originally known the man behind the mask. And this Gordon, she obviously knew him and he her.

A door slammed open, and then the lights went out in the other room, casting the entire place into darkness.

"Bafoons. Get up. We have work to do." a third familiar voice said. There was a small commotion, then the three people left. A man walked into the room she resided in, and Audrey watched him warily.

"Don't remember, do you?" he questioned. She just watched him, and he frowned playfully.

"You don't remember, but you still are the same." he came closer, and she moved her head back.

"What would Batman do, if I killed you? If I cut out your eyes and sent them to him? Can you tell me that?" she narrowed her eyes, and he poked a finger into her cheek.

"You're awful. You would have made a wonderful partner for me if you'd just accepted the insanity clawing at you." she raised her chin defiantly.

"Just because I'm still all here inside doesn't mean I'm awful. If anything you're awful." The man, presumably Joker from his makeup, smirked.

"So feisty." he left, shutting and locking the front door behind him. She shut her eyes, then folded the chair up under her and waddled into the kitchen where she got a knife and cut herself free. She replaced the chair and got a piece of paper and pen.

"_Batman, see you at the headshop."_ she folded it and left it under a leg of her chair. For some reason, she connected Batman and a shop she vaguely remembered from her memories that seemed like an uber headshop to her. A better question was, could she find the place?

Audrey opened the window in her room and slid out of it onto a fire escape, which she promptly climbed down to the alleyway bellow. Upon walking out onto the street, she looked for anything that felt familiar. One street led to another, which led to another and another and another and another. Where she found herself, however, was not the headshop from her memories. It was a tall brick building that seemed to be falling apart at the seems. She warily headed inside the front glass doors and up the stairs, traveling flights that felt familiar to her legs and feet, although she seemed to only have one shoe on. On the fourth floor, she stopped in front of where the familiarness ended, and looked at the peculiar broken door. Low voices could be heard inside, and then the sounds of a small fight ensued. She pushed open the door warily, and it squeaked on it's hinges. She winced and shut her eyes, opening her eyes a second later and looking at the dark figure holding a man dressed in black clothes, clearly unconscious. The dark figure dropped the man and watched her, perhaps more warily than she watched it. After a several minute long silent assessment, the figure spoke.

"How did you find your way back here?" something clicked, and she realized this was the man in the bat mask. Batman, someone she could trust. Every single muscle in her body relaxed and she sighed, leaning back against the counter.

"I was trying to find a headshop I remember from my youth that had some connection to you. I left a note where they had me, but I guess I found you first."

"How do you know you can trust me?" he questioned. She bit her bottom lip in thought.

"The men who had me... they watched the police statement. You talked about a new Dent. Then a man said you didn't sound like you. Another said it was because they had your partner in crime. I connected the dots." she shrugged, and Batman spaced out for a few moments.

"We need to get you to safety."

"I'm not going anywhere if this city is in a crisis." to her surprise, Batman chuckled.

"You'll never change, memories or not." he left, and she followed him down to the street and to an almost invisible vehicle in the alley beside the building.

"Who's home was that, anyway? Yours?" this time the Batman laughed loudly, and said in a non growling voice, "This is going to be way too much fun later." she cocked her head as this change in voice, which sent a sharp pain through her heart.

"Say something again." he looked at her like she was crazy, while they sat side by side in the vehicle. After a few seconds, he handed her the pair to her shoe.

"Why?" his voice was back in the growl. She shook her head.

"No, say something in your real voice."

"Why?" she groaned.

"You're so annoying. It sounds so familiar it hurts." Batman smirked as he started the vehicle up and shot out of the alley.

"Progress." was all he said in his real voice. The shot of pain appeared again, and she frowned thoughtfully at the dashboard until he came to a halt. The hatch popped open, and he climbed out.

"Come on." she climbed out after him, and he led her inside of a burned building, which was completely black inside as well, and only had one person inside.

"I'm a little busy to take your report right now." the man said. The ache of familiarity came back, and Audrey's eyes widened slightly.

"You're Commissioner Gordon. I recognize that voice from the TV." the man, perhaps in his fifties with graying brown hair, stood up abruptly and watched Audrey with the widest eyes she could imagine possible.

"You found her? Does she remember? Is she alright?" Batman was silent for a few moments, so Audrey spoke instead.

"I found him, I don't remember, and I think I'm okay. I got my shoe back at least." Gordon gave a quiet chuckle, then fell silent.

"Knowing Joker, this won't last long. We need to get her somewhere sa-"

"No! What is with you people and trying to protect me? So I don't remember anything relevant yet. I still managed to escape the place they were holding me and find my way back to a place I knew. I can handle myself, memories or not." Gordon stared at her, while Batman remained expressionless, laughter dancing in his eyes.

Just to make this night worse, however, four men slammed into the room, three dressed in all black and one dressed in green and purple. Joker locked eyes with Audrey, and a wide grin stretched across his face.

"You escaped? That's fascinating. You retained all of your skills through your amnesia. However, you managed to ruin my plans. I was going to bring Gordon's dead body to you and see if you remembered." Audrey grit her teeth, and Gordon stepped in front of her.

"How precious." Joker turned his attention to Batman.

"Take off the mask. I want to see what you really look like outside of your known lifestyle." Batman said nothing, and Audrey briefly wondered what he was like in public and out of character. Joker snapped, and a gun was raised, aimed square at Batman's heart.

"Take it off." Batman still did nothing, and Joker snapped again. Four rounds were shot, and brought the Bat to his knees, while everything came flashing back to Audrey as she screamed rather uncharacteristically. She clamped her teeth shut, cutting off the sound resonating from her throat. Joker looked at her.

"I daresay we have the revival of Audrey Habicht's mind. Now, take off the mask." Bruce didn't do a thing, and Audrey moved from behind Gordon to kneel in front of him.

"Bruce. Please just take it off. You're not immortal." he looked at Audrey, a slight smile on his lips.

"You know what Gordon said earlier? He said he could tell I was in love with you, and that I should back off because he wouldn't have me ruining our happiness." Audrey gave a weak smile.

"Did you laugh?"

"No. I'm the Batman. I don't laugh." she snorted.

"You did earlier." he frowned.

"That's because you weren't you." his hand lighted the back of her neck and his lips pressed against hers for a moment. Butterflies erupted in her stomach – as well as a painful shock that she recognised – and he pulled away all too soon, fingers gripping the lip of the mask and pulling it off cleanly over his head. Gordon gave a quiet gasp, and Audrey smiled slightly. Bruce placed the cowl in her hands.

"Hold that for me, and get out of in front of me." she rolled her eyes, then stood up and stood between Gordon and Bruce.

"I still can't imagine you as Batman." Joker commented. Bruce kept his face expressionless, and Joker turned his attention back to Gordon.

"We actually only came to kill you, Gordon." Audrey stepped in front of him while watching Joker. He frowned at her as she tried to completely block Gordon.

"Just because I don't want to kill you doesn't mean I won't." he pointed out. Bruce, having picked himself up, stepped in front of Audrey. Joker made a clucking noise.

"We'll be back later." and then they were gone. Bruce turned and had Audrey in his arms in one swift movement, holding her hard to him. She laughed quietly against the hard armor of his chest, and Gordon let out a tense breath.

"Mr. Wayne."

"Gordon." Bruce responded.

"I apologize for-" Gordon was cut off by Audrey's laughter, and she pushed Bruce off then turned around to face Gordon.

"Don't apologize to him. You didn't do anything wrong." Gordon opened his mouth to protest, and Audrey held up a finger.

"He could use more people being rude to him anyway." Bruce grabbed her around the waist and she giggled quietly.

"You barely get away with it as it is." he murmured.

"You couldn't stop me if you tried to." she responded, then handed back his cowl.

"Now, let's get this out in the air before you two get into a cat fight." Audrey cracked her neck, and Gordon winced at the sound.

"Bruce is Batman. Batman is Bruce. Bruce and I are still dating. You are not allowed to beat him, Gordon, and Bruce wouldn't dream of beating you. Capiche?" the two men nodded slowly.

"Good." Audrey stepped out from between them and headed for the door. Bruce caught her arm and pulled her backward.

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned. She looked up at him.

"To hunt down everybody's favourite psychopath?"

"I think not. Gordon, can you take her to any hospital with power?" Gordon nodded.

"I'll go after Joker. Contact me when you've taken her back to the manor." she glared at him, and he obviously could feel it as he avoided looking down at her.

"I am _not _going back to the Manor. Nor my apartment, nor Gordon's house, nor another police station." Bruce spun her around so she faced him.

"I need you to be safe."

"I'm not safe anywhere." she pointed out. Bruce flexed his fingers, which rested on her biceps.

"I need to think you're safe so I can focus on what is at hand." he tried again. She shook her head.

"Not happening. I can jump out of Gordon's car." she threatened then. His grip went stony on her arms, and she gave a half smile before pushing up onto her toes and pressing a light kiss to his lips.

"You're cute, but not enough for me to stay away for. Nothing you can do is going to keep me from this fight, so you just need to accept it. I'll go to the hospital, I'll get pain relievers but I am staying here." Bruce watched her carefully for a moment.

"Don't get killed." and then he was gone, cowl and all. Gordon chuckled deep in his belly, and Audrey faced him.

"You two are quite the pair. I never thought that Bruce Wayne, playboy billionare could be tied down. You proved me wrong there. I never thought that Wayne would stay loyal. He did. I never thought that he would be Batman. He is. And I certainly never thought you knew." Audrey grinned.

"Let's go old man." he followed her out to a cruiser in the lot beside the burned out building, and then they were speeding to the hospital. Almost there, Audrey looked at Gordon, who was staring all business out the windshield as he drove in the dark streets.

"You can't tell anybody about Bruce."

"Why would I? He's been the only person who has really helped me against this war on crime, other than you. He saved my kid and probably my life at the expense of his own. I have so much to repay him for that it's not humanly possible for me to tell anybody." she snorted.

"If he heard you say that he would be in deep denial. 'You don't owe me anything, I did it for the greater good of Gotham, blah blah blah.'" Gordon chuckled.

"He said something like that to me once, at the end of the whole Arkham Asylum deal. I told him that I never thanked him, and he said I'll never have to." she smiled fondly at the dash, picking at the holes in her now torn up jeans.

"He deserves some praise. He would have wrecked his life for this city."

"He almost did." Gordon murmured. Audrey looked back up at him, curious at his meaning. Gordon caught her inquisitive gaze and smiled beneath his furry caterpillar of a mustache.

"Rachel Dawes died in the first Joker incident a few years back, remember?" she nodded slowly.

"My uncle told me. Bruce was in love with her and she died."

"Batman disappeared for a few hours after that. I don't know if he'll ever talk about it, but I'll assume he was grieving. Joker has cost him his happiness and retirement several times over at this point. Wayne's praise would be catching Joker for the final time." Audrey bobbed her head understandingly as they pulled in to a lit up hospital. Gordon took her inside and got her head looked at and high quality pain medicine prescribed. Once finished, Gordon gave her brief instructions on what she was allowed to do, and gave her a new radio. He drove off, and she stalked the streets warily, hyper aware of every dark shadow large enough to house a human being, every alley that could hide a car waiting to grab her. Briefly, she realized that this may not have been her best plan. She sidled up alongside a building and hit the talk button on the radio.

"Bruce?"

"_Are you okay?_"

"I need instructions hun." Bruce breathed a sigh over the line, and Audrey smirked out at the creepily empty street.

"_Check out the bridges. There are still people there stuck in cars._"

"Thanks." she stuck it back in her pocket, then made her way to the bridges she hadn't yet been to. It was an odd thing to see the city so dark, and so quiet. Sure, there had been power outages before but there were always been people on the streets. Hell, Audrey had been out during a snow storm once and there was no one on the streets, yet lights on everywhere. The combination of the two was almost mindblowing, as Gotham was completely transformed without either. The criminals must even been afraid of Joker, as no thugs or drug dealers were lurking in alleys.

Audrey reached the first bridge in no time without crowds to fight through, and immediately realized that there were still dozens of people to get out. She walked up to the nearest car, picking up a stray piece of twisted metal on the way, and peered inside the window at the woman inside talking to the man, both looking rather anxious. In the back seat, two young twins were deep asleep. Audrey rapped lightly on the window, and the couple looked at her. The entire front of the car was smashed to smithereens, indicating that the battery was obviously dead. Two other cars had the doors pinned shut. Audrey mouthed for them to cover their faces and wake the children up. They did so, and she scooted back a bit on the car hood she sat on, then whacked the windshield with her twisted piece of metal. After the initial hole, she stuck her foot through the windshield, then repeated the process with the side windows. The safety glass shattered all around her leg and she thanked God that she was wearing jeans. She pulled her foot back, and the man climbed out the shattered window and pulled the kids out, then his wife.

"Head straight home." he shook his head and turned to his wife.

"Mary, get home. I'm going to stay and help." she nodded and ushered the kids away from the bridge. Audrey eyed the man.

"Start on the other edge of this bridge. We'll work our way in then back out." she turned and moved to the far right of the bridge, then began getting people out of crushed cars. By the time she was a few dozen yards in, her foot was beginning to feel the effects of being brutally slammed against safety glass. Her knee throbbed when she walked, and her ankle was getting stiff. The bottom of her foot felt like she hadn't been off her feet in two weeks. About halfway through the bridge, her ankle cracked loudly and rather painfully after a final window. A troop of men was working on the rest of the cars, using other items as well as their feet to break windows and pry open doors.

She cried out and yanked her foot back fast, collapsing onto her rear and elevating the foot. The person inside climbed out, thanked her, and fled. She kept tears at bay while she rocked back and forth on her bum, numbed hands wrapped firmly around her throbbing, hot ankle. A crackle sounded from the radio in her pocket, and then two voices battled for control of the airwaves.

"_Hab_-"

"-_drey_?" despite her pain, she let out a bark of a laugh before grabbing the radio, holding back tears and cursing her own weakness.


	24. Chapter 23

"You two make me laugh." was her opening statement. Despite herself, she could hear the tears in her voice, and mentally cursed herself for being weak.

"_Are you alright?_"

"_What did you do?_" she laughed again at the worried tone of Gordon's voice and the exasperated one of Bruce's.

"I was doing my job." she pouted.

"_Can you make it back to the station?_" Gordon questioned. Audrey pushed herself off the hood and rested weight on the ankle. Sharp pain shot up her leg and her knee buckled. She caught herself on the car behind her, suddenly very glad that neither of them could hear her.

"Not if you want me back in a timely fashion. I can try and get a ride."

"_Ten minutes._" Bruce responded.

"I may not make it in time." she responded, glancing at the distance she had to cover. There were no more voices on the radio, so she pocketed it, then began using cars as crutches. In twenty minutes she was only a fourth of the way there, whilst Bruce had been waiting. He looked at her, then began making his way through the cars and lifted her up.

"Jeez. Impatient much."

"I'm not sure you could take longer if you tried." he responded. She vaguely wondered how slapping him would go over, but decided against it. He carried her the rest of the way to the Tumbler, then set her down carefully in the passenger seat, then climbed over her and shut the hatch.

"Keep your ankle up on the dashboard." she reclined in the seat and propped her ankle up. He took off and she gripped the seat hard, nails digging into the cushion. They arrived at the station scarcely five minutes later, and Bruce simply carried Audrey inside again. He set her down on a desk and rolled up her jeans.

"You dislocated your ankle." he braced one hand on the platform of her foot, then locked eyes with her. She smirked and he pushed the bones back into place. Her teeth bit sharply into her tongue, cheek, and lip at the same time, drawing blood from all three. She spat off to the side, then let the pain resonate through her leg for a minute, quickly dulled by her pain meds. Bruce watched her silently while she assessed the pain. In dismissal of said pain, she looked to Gordon on her right.

"Why are we here?"

"It's three in the morning. Joker hasn't made a peep in two hours. I have to assume he's either working up to something behind the scenes or is dormant for the rest of the night. None of my officers have reported anything in the apa-" a loud blast that made Audrey's ears ring and the entire building shake broke through Gotham like a ripple in a pond, disturbing everything. Car alarms started blaring outside, and Audrey wasted no time in leaping to her feet, pain aside, and racing to the roof. Bruce caught her around the waist and pulled her back hard against the building just after she set foot on the roof. Gordon wasn't long after them. Smoke and fire rose high in the sky, accompanied by the glittering sight of objects falling from the sky in pieces, raining down like sharp ice. The longer she watched the flames and the falling pieces, the more the horror in her gut grew. A piece of a porcelain lamp she recognized hit the rooftop and shattered into little bits. The lamp had belonged to an elderly woman four floors above Audrey. Audrey had carried the lamp upstairs for the woman two years ago. Another familiar piece of something fluttered down, and Audrey pushed out of Bruce's arms and grabbed it out of the air. In her hand lay a still smoldering piece of wood with a flaming piece of cloth that Audrey recognized as coming off the couch in her apartment. Bruce had her quickly in his arms again, face hidden in his chest as he held her. The flaming cloth burned her hand slightly, but she paid next to no attention to it as shock took hold of her system.

"What's going on?" Gordon questioned. Bruce took off his mask and dropped it to the ground, then took Audrey's face in his gloved hands. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, seeming to stare out behind him, yet stare at a speck on his armor. The tan had disappeared from her skin, and the beginnings of a tremor were working there way through her body.

"Audrey. Look at me." after a few seconds, her eyes slid to Bruce's face and focused, pupils dilated to the point of swallowing her icy irises.

"You cannot lose it. I need you to stay together." the tremors in her chest grew to full out shaking as he watched, but her eyes remained clear and focused on his face. Gordon silently sidled up behind Bruce and looked at the two.

"I never wanted to have to ask this of you, but I need you to be me for now until we can get rest. I need you to quiet and sit on your emotions. Your shock, your fear, your anger, your terror. Sit on them until dawn. When we go back to the Manor, you can cry all day. Right now, I need the Audrey that has always had my back in rough situations. Who kept her cool when being mugged in an alley. Who willingly and knowingly traveled into a warehouse when she knew it was deadly. Who turned back to save her best friend while in danger of dying of a bomb. I need Audrey Habicht, newfound White Knight of Gotham." the shaking died back down to tremors, then disappeared as Audrey bottled her emotions and held onto the raw anger she felt. The anger that would keep her up and running for the next three hours instead of curling into a ball and crying. Closing her eyes, she nodded slowly. Bruce released her slowly, and she rubbed her biceps, eyes still closed.

"He's done for the night." was all she said. Gordon's brows furrowed, and he looked from the masked crusader to Audrey and back. Audrey's eyes opened as she looked at Gordon.

"He blew up my apartment building, and every single person inside." Gordon's eyes widened in realization and he looked back at the inferno and flying pieces of debris in the air. For a vague moment, he wondered why it had affected Audrey so, and then he thought a little deeper. The people in there were her neighbors. They were friends, they were like family. And they were all dead.

Gordon looked back to Audrey, who was watching him with battle hardened eyes.

"Why is he done?" he questioned softly. Audrey looked at him blankly for a minute, reverting back to ditzy Audrey Habicht who forgot what she said as soon as she said it.

"Oh. That. He's done because that was his finale for the night. He's made the hard blow to weaken our side, and he wants us to digest, to grieve, and to regroup. He wants us to come back and fight hard. It makes it more fun for him." Gordon nodded.

"Both of you go home. I'll call Audrey when I need you." Bruce nodded and pulled on the cowl before gently taking Audrey's hand and leading her back downstairs. Her silence and emotions were fragile, that much he could tell. If she snapped before they got back to the manor, he was going to have a hell of a time getting her inside.

The Tumbler took off with a roar and Bruce made it back to the Batcave in record time, lifting Audrey out carefully and sending her to the elevator.

"Grab a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt out of my drawer. Leave your clothes by the door. I'll be up in a minute." she nodded and disappeared into the elevator. She managed to get changed and nearly to the bed before Bruce came in and she began the break down process. The two simply looked at eachother, and then she could feel the tears running down her face before her breath became ragged and turned into painful sobs. She could taste the saltiness before her body was too wracked with the sobs to register much else. Bruce crossed the room quickly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her hard against his bare chest. The first hitched breath came, her chest jumping as the breath turned into a sob and her tears finally made their way to her chin. Bruce's warm skin against her freezing skin didn't help at all as her body relaxed and more tears flowed. He picked her up carefully, then laid her on the bed and began to leave.

"No! No." he looked back, and through squinted eyes, Audrey watched his stony face waver slightly as he struggled to keep together.

"I need to-"

"Please." his mask cracked, and he made his way back to the bed while Audrey tried to hold in the sobs that threatened to tear her apart. Audrey rarely every experienced this true crying, being particularly emotionally hardened by the age of ten. When it did appear, it always took hours to leave, and hours to recuperate. Bruce crossed the bed on his hands and knees and pulled Audrey to him again, cocooning her in his arms. Her sobs quieted slightly from their natural loudness whenever they did manage to break through.

Some three hours later, Audrey managed to quiet and fall asleep. Bruce pulled away slightly and looked at her, running his thumb across her cheek before he rose and disappeared from the room. He sat at the top of the staircase with Joker's tracker in his hands and watched the little dot more for more than six hours before Alfred discovered him and forced him back to his room.

"You may not feel you need the sleep, but you do sir. And what would Audrey feel if she woke up and you weren't there?"

"She's a big girl, Alfred."

"She may be a big girl, but beneath her facade she's still human. Still has a heart, which has the ability to be disappointed, broken, and left to hang. Her heart is like an open book right now. Her walls are gone and she allowed herself to cry before you." Alfred seemed to be struggling for words that usually came so easily to him. However, his master got what he meant to say. Bruce nodded slowly, then turned and headed back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him and joining Audrey again in bed. He wrapped his arms around her, and cursed at the chilly temperature of her body against the very warm temperature of his. She jumped slightly, and her eyes snapped open. She looked at Bruce, and he smirked.

"You're freezing."

"That's not new." she responded, relishing in the heat rolling off his body in waves. He pulled her back against him, spooning her, and released a breath.

"What's on your mind?" she questioned. She seemed to sense that he hadn't been in the bed for quite some time now, but said nothing about it.

"Things I don't need to be thinking about right now." she frowned slightly out into the blackness, then pushed her hips backward so her entire body lined up with his.

"There is no set time for you to think about anything."

"I'm not Batman right now."

"And? For the past two and a half months, it seems you think like Batman while you're Bruce and like Bruce while you're Batman. It doesn't bother anybody else but you." Bruce rested his cheek on her hair, feeling his stubble catch against her soft curls.

"When I'm with you, I'm an entirely new man. I don't want to think like Batman, I want to think about you. I want to be able to keep my mind here so I can comfort you, and so I can be who you seem to think I am." she snorted, and he could feel her diaphragm jump with the sound and sudden rush of air.

"You are the man I think you are. Either I know your dirty secrets, or you're not as different as you thought you were." she flipped over to look at him, and he laid his hand on her neck, thumb rubbing circles on her jaw.

"I love you." she gave him a quirky, cat like smile.

"I know. Stop digressing." she paused and forced him to look at her, "I love you the way you are. I understand and accept that you will never be completely here, unless you retire. I don't expect that to happen any time soon, and it doesn't bother me. Accept that you have like, three different sides to you, and this will all be better." he captured her lips softly, and her arms wound around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. His hands found their way under the hem of the teeshirt and traveled up her spine, locking onto her shoulders.

A loud buzzing woke Audrey up around nine that night, and she groped for her phone on the bedside table. Once her fingers closed around the cold object, she opened it and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"_This is your wake up call. I need you both down here in an hour._" she nodded, then remembered he couldn't see her nod.

"Alright." she hung up, and turned to wake Bruce up. After a few shakings, she groaned and kissed him lightly. He grabbed her and rolled on top, pinning her to the bed. She laughed against his lips, then pushed at him lightly.

"Get off, we've only got an hour and I need to shower." she pushed at him again and he reluctantly rolled off. She got up and stepped into the bathroom before turning on the water and jumping in.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped out, towel wrapped around herself, and Bruce stepped in. Once back in his room, she quickly located clothes that would fit her, consisting of large sweatpants and a tee shirt of his, then her tennis shoes and jacket. Bruce stepped out of the shower, towel riding low on his hips again, and the duo looked at eachother before Audrey cracked up and Bruce gave her a confused look. She calmed down after a minute or two, then giggled sporadically as she looked at him again.

"I will make you stay here if you're suddenly going into hysterics." he threatened. She giggled again, then scooted over to him and walked her fingers up his bare chest.

"You look like a sex god right now, and I look fairly unattractive. We make quite the duo." his hand swallowed hers, stopping the upward motion.

"I like it when you wear my clothes." he decided. She cocked her head to the side, looking at him.

"They're too big so it hides you from the world." she laughed, then bounced onto her toes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. Where she had an intention of pulling away, Bruce had no intention of letting her go that easily as his arms caught around her waist and pulled her against his chest. This was not the heated kiss from earlier, but a sweet, tender display of emotion. Her chilled fingers rested on his chest, and then he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. Without a doubt in her mind, she knew something horrible was going to happen tonight. Both her and Bruce knew it, apparently. However, she wasn't sure how horrible, to whom it would be horrible, or when the horrid would occur.

"Master Wayne, you have twenty minutes to get to the city." Alfred called softly. Bruce kissed Aundrey's forehead.

"I'll meet you downstairs." he released her, and she ducked out of the room, following Alfred and rolling the sweatpants about five times. Then she pulled the elastic bottoms up just below her knees.

"Much better." he led her down into the Batcave after handing her a few fruit filled bars.

"Eat up. Don't want you getting weak while in the field of play." she laughed.

"Thank you, Alfred." she gave him a hug, then slipped into Bruce's side of the Tumbler and looked at all the controls above her head. All of the hundred buttons were lit up and each had a little word below it, describing what it did. She shook her head.

"How does he remember these?" she murmured, then gripped the wheel and let her mind wander. She wondered about what would happen tonight. She wondered about the feeling of dread in her belly. She wondered about Gordon and how he dealt with all of this shit for so long. She wondered about how he felt knowing that Batman was Bruce Wayne. She wondered if he would tell anyone. She wondered if the city knew, then what would become of Bruce?

"Can you get out for a minute?" Bruce's voice shattered her thoughts and she glanced up at him, realizing his mask was off, then climbed out and flattened the clothes.

"How do you remember all those buttons?" he glanced inside.

"Did you miss the labels?" she frowned.

"No, but I was hoping that you could remember them." he shook his head.

"So, before we go unwittingly to our deaths in a few minutes, I've a question for you." she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He seemed puzzled a moment, then sunk down on one knee. Audrey's heart nearly stopped beating as her eyes went wide and she turned bright red.

"I've known you for two and a half months, but the crap I have put you through makes it feel like forever. You hated me, you liked me, you loved me, despite me being Batman, despite my overbearingness and despite the danger. I've almost lost you a few times, due to injury and due to my own pigheadedness. I don't want to feel that again, ever. I want you by my side until the day I die. I'm hoping you want the same." she looked at him.

"What would you do if I said no?" he glared at her and she laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't rather be anywhere else." she sniffled, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. He took her left hand and slid on her mother's engagement ring, causing her to laugh while covering her mouth with her other hand. The ring, of course, fit much better now, fitting onto her finger like she'd been born with it. He stood up and embraced her, holding her tight against him.

"That means you can't die on me today."


	25. Chapter 24

**Nearly done now!**

Audrey had promptly turned the ring around so the diamond was facing in when they arrived at the station, so it was really no surprise that Gordon split the two of them up and quite far. Bruce was to go to some problem on the other side of the city from where Audrey was to lead a few policemen to the apartment Joker had kept her in. His hand barely brushed the back of hers in passing, and she closed her fist on the diamond. The police loaded her in a cruiser and she gave them shaky directions to the apartment. Surprisingly, they actually got there. One of them helped her up onto the fire escape and she ran up the stairs to the height she remembered. The men were right behind her, climbing in through the window after her. She lifted the note from the chair inconspicuously and slid it into her pocket. They searched the apartment thoroughly, locating the knife she'd used to cut herself free, the cut zipties, and a steaming coffee mug.

"Someone has been here recently." the senior officer commented. She moved to pick up the mug and someone slapped her hand away.

"Fingerprints." he explained. She rolled her eyes.

"There won't be any, and you can take mine so you can differentiate." she lifted the mug up and sniffed the coffee. It smelled strong, and when she pulled it back to inspect, she found a smudge of red, looking like someone tried to wipe it off. She showed the officer.

"Look interesting?" he took the mug from her and inspected it for a moment before carefully placing it back on the table.

"We were never here." he called, moving back toward the window. Audrey shook her head, then pointed to the camera on the door frame that she'd noticed coming in.

"Oh yes we were." she grabbed the mug and threw it hard. It shattered against the camera, which then fell to the floor. The cop looked at her.

"He won't be coming back here. Let's take our time." she muttered. And so the real search began, as the police slowly combed every single room, tearing them apart. Audrey stood off to the side, looking out the only window to make sure no hooligans were climbing up the fire escape. However, when she did see someone climbing up, she climbed out of the window and shut it behind her quietly. The masked man reached her level and she struck out with her fist, nailing him in the mouth and sending him down to the next level. She jumped the stairs and hovered over him. Blood leaked from a split in his lips and she stepped on him before pulling of his painted mask.

"You're Joker's, right?" he spat at her, and she wiped the blood off her face, a disgusted look on her face. Her foot pressed against his ribs, and she felt them creak through her shoe. He wheezed below her, but stayed silent.

"What would happen if I jumped on your ribcage?" she questioned, voice full of intent to injure. She spread her hands to the bars, then jumped up. The guy let out a feminine shriek, and her feat landed on either side of his ribs, just barely grazing him.

"Yes I'm Joker's." he gasped, pupils huge as he watched her, preparing for her next "attack".

"Why did he send you here?"

"I ain't tellin' you." she slammed a foot down into the lowest part of his ribcage, and felt a rib break under her foot. He shrieked again, and she took her foot off.

"I was to kills you or knocks you out and takes you." she snorted at his addition of an S to every verb.

"Well that failed." she kicked him in the head, and his eyes snapped shut. She called up to the window then.

"Hey!" somebody climbed out onto the fire escape.

"Come help me take him to a car." the man slid down to Audrey, and then she noticed that he had on a hat. None of the police members they'd come with had hats. She cursed under her breath, carried her weight on the handrails, then kicked out at him as he neared, pushing him back against the stairs. He shoved back to his feet and she threw a fist, nailing him in the nose with her left hand. She could feel it crack beneath her hand, and winced. He tried to wrangle her into a choke hold, but she wiggled hard and slammed the back of her head up against his teeth. Pain rang out on her scalp, but she ignored it an shoved the man off. Then his fist caught her in the cheek and she fell on top of the other man, who didn't wake still. The faux police man straddled her, and she struck out with a flat palm, hitting his chin up painfully. He gripped her wrist, and she could feel the muscle stretching too far as he twisted her wrist before she felt the pain. A light burn like pain spread up and down her arm, and fury burned in her system at having been hurt again. With this new fury, Audrey let out an ear piercing scream to alert the officers inside. The man tried to cover her mouth, and she bit him, then resumed the scream. He punched her in the throat, and her throat collapsed. Frantic noises could be heard coming from the apartment, and the man lifted her up, running down the stairs as officers clambered out of the house and began shooting at him. Audrey let out a shuddery breath while her throat reopened and she gave up on fighting whatsoever. If there was a sure way to take out an unarmed person, it was to punch them in the throat.

"We'll call Commissioner Gordon and the Bat when we get where we're going. Should we tell them of your condition?" despite her wrist, she shoved at him and he let go of her, surprised. She hit the ground with a painful thud, then shot to her feet and began to run. A single shot rang off the surrounding brick walls, and Audrey didn't register the pain before she hit the ground.

* * *

Audrey's eyes open lazily and her head rolled up straight as she took in her dark surroundings. Luckily, this time, she knew who she was. Her right wrist throbbed, and there was a cold, painful, wet feeling on her right shoulder. She didn't dare look, recalling the gunshot she heard before blacking out. This dwelling, unlike the last, looked well kept after. Her heart began to pound, and her injuries to throb incessantly. She knew these walls, these marble columns, that couch and that rug. She knew the scent of pomegranate in the air, and the warmth it brought with it.

"Joker!" she shouted, causing her shoulder to shriek at her.

"JOKER!" she repeated, voice getting hoarse. He appeared up on the second floor, and smiled wickedly at her.

"Good morning, my dear. Have you missed a lot while you were asleep!" he descended the stairs, garbed in his purple suit and such. His hair, it seemed, had been recently dyed green again.

"And, may I say, how rude! How could you fall asleep while the love of your life and your father figure fought for their lives to save the city, unaware of your absence?" she glared at him as he came down onto the first level.

"What have you done with my uncle?" she demanded. He licked his lips.

"Your uncle?" her glare became heated.

"George Habicht, my mother's brother." she pressed, voice taut. Joker's gaze focused on something behind her, and she twisted in her seat to see what he looked at. Her jaw dropped and tears sprung to her eyes and pain to her heart as she saw her uncle, hopefully dead, and impaled on a flag pole near the entrance of his home.

"He wouldn't give over the house. Good thing his wife is not home, though. Would be bad if she died too." the breath left Audrey's body as she looked at him, unable to tear her eyes away. He wore his classic bathrobe, which was stained a deep crimson. The flag pole went straight through the small of his back and up through his chest. She couldn't imagine how long he'd suffered like that, and she didn't want to.

Joker's finger curled around her chin and pulled her back to face him.

"This is all your fault, my dear. Had you not gotten in my way, had you not associated with the Bat, had you joined _my _side, nobody would have had to suffer so much! But because you had to put up a fight, you dragged this out considerably longer than necessary. However, I do enjoy prolonged torture. Just ask the guys at Arkham." he pointed out, tapping Audrey's nose. Her stomach, however, was revolting at the image of her uncle in her head, and she heaved all over Joker's shoes, somehow making herself feel better about the situation. Joker frowned.

"Damn. I guess I have to go change. Not polite to meet guests with vomit on your shoes." Joker smacked her head rather hard, then pranced back up the stairs like a pansy. Audrey let her neck go slack and her head hang for a few minutes while she tried to steel herself to at least survive through this. Her dominant wrist was sprained, and she had a bullet through the same shoulder. Her only ally in this house was impaled on a pole just behind her. Joker was obviously up to something, and had been wreaking complete and utter havoc on the city while she was unconscious.

He came downstairs again a few minutes later, and lifted her chair up, which she was _chained _to this time, and he carried her into the family room, where the large, sixty inch TV was running the news. It was covered with flaming buildings, dying people, collapsing hospitals, ravaged bodies in rubble, and the police trying to contain the panic. Apparently, while there was so much video of carnage, this had only happened to exactly a square block of the city, leaving the rest of the city relatively intact, the other citizens cowering in their homes for fear that they were next. There were brief glimpses of Gordon being heroic and directing people out of the danger zone, shielding small children from falling debris, and prying other people out from under fallen walls. Then there were about four videos and two pictures of Bruce. Two videos were him taking out baddies, and another two were him lifting concrete walls and freeing people. The first photo was a close up of his masked face, looked aged beyond his years despite the fact that you could only see his mouth and eyes. The second photo was him and Gordon conversing about something, both looking slight worried and very serious.

"I kept the chaos to exactly one block because I didn't want to wreck the rest of the beautiful city. I have a new appreciation for it since my second coming. However, that has also kept Gordon and Wayne pacified, thinking that you were safe in some other place. Don't they look secure in their beliefs? Too bad they're wrong." he sat on a sofa beside her and held up her walkie-talkie, also covered in a coppery smelling, crimson liquid. She knew what it was, and didn't want to know who he'd killed with a god damned walkie-talkie.

"Shall we give them a call?" he pressed the talk button on it.

"Hello? Is this thing even on the right channel? Batman? Gordon?" he called, following up with a maniacal laugh. There was a pregnant pause, presumably the two men on the other side conversing with eachother.

"I'm waiting~" Joker sing songed. Audrey closed her eyes.

"_What do you want?_"Gordon questioned.

"I want," he paused, looking at Audrey with a mad look in his eye, "to negotiate the terms of my surrender."

"_You're not going to surrender Joker. We're not stupid._" Gordon pointed out.

"However, I do have something you both treasure." he let go of the button and Audrey spoke without opening her eyes, "I'm not a thing."

"_Why should we believe you have anything of value?_" came Bruce's trademark growl. Joker held down the talk button, then got up and stood in front of Audrey.

"Ready dear?" she opened her eyes to look at him, just as he pressed his fingers into her bullet wound. A piercing scream ripped through her raw throat, and Joker winced.

"That was louder than I expected." he muttered.

"_Where?_" Bruce growled again.

"George Habicht's mansion. I only want you, Batman. Come alone, and now." and then Joker smashed the walkie-talkie and wiped off his gloved fingers on the couch. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and he stood up straight.

"I'm going to get a banana, want anything?"

"Go die." she hissed. He laughed.

"So cute." and then he flounced away. The house was all but silent for the next twenty minutes, only the hum of the heater and the static of Audrey's nonsensical thoughts filling the silence. Then she heard the door slam open and her drooping eye lids snapped open.

"Wait there please." Joker sing songed, skipping back into the room and picking up Audrey's chair again. He deposited her facing Bruce in the main room.

"Where is George?" Bruce growled. Audrey kept her eyes on the floor. Joker laughed.

"All in due time. Now, the terms of my surrender. I want you, to kill her." Audrey let out a hollow laugh.

"I'm probably going to die anyway if I don't get to a hospital soon." she pointed out. Joker smacked the back of her head.

"Manners. The men are speaking here. So, kill her, and I'll leave Gotham and leave you alone forever."

"Bruce, Uncle George is on the top of the flagpole." Audrey muttered. Bruce looked behind him, and Joker kneed her sprained wrist. She let out a shriek, then bit her tongue. Bruce's head snapped back to the two before him.

"No." he growled. Joker produced two guns then, one against Audrey's temple, and the other pointing at Bruce.

"Deny me again, and she dies while the rules change. Deny me thrice, and you die too, along with any hope of Gotham's salvation."

"What are her injuries?" Bruce questioned, eyes only on Joker.

"Some idiot I hired shot her in the shoulder and sprained her wrist. I'm surprised she deals with the pain so well."

"High pain tolerance, and I'm on Oxycontin." she muttered. Joker kneed her again, and she drew blood from her tongue, not that she had any to spare. The burst of pain in a new part of her body dragged her mind back into clarity.

"That's kind of what I like about you, Bruce. You just don't lay down and take what you're given. You fight to amend the terms. However, in this instance, it's going to cost you the love of your life's life either way." the muzzle of the gun pressed against her temple harder, and she felt the trigger being squeezed. A popping sound, and Joker made a quiet noise.

"Wrong gun." he tossed that one away and pulled out a small pistol. Audrey closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and levelling her head. She could feel the cold of the metal, the clammy heat on her neck and palms, and the shift of hairs on her head from a slight, cool breeze. Time slowed down, then, as she heard the explosion of gunfire, and the whiz of a bullet tearing through the air. The gross sound as it bit into flesh and ripped through someone's organs, and the deafening silence that followed. A loud thud sounded just behind her, her everything around her began to take on a bright, fuzzy glow on the edges. Heavy footsteps took forever to reach her, coming from either direction, and then one person snapped the chains with a strong hand, while the other lifted her out of the chair and laid her on the floor. The fuzzy glow grew, swallowing up everything into a pixelated form. The entirety of her vision was a giant white pixel. A black pixel and a brown pixel butted in and she could see them bouncing slightly, never quite staying in the same place. Vague rumbles of sound penetrated the fog of her mind, but none of it quite made sense. She got about one logical word before the white took over her mind; "Audrey"


	26. Chapter 25

What felt like years later, the white turned solid black suddenly, pulling Audrey from a quiet, sleepy corner of her mind where she relived memories in her dreams. Other colours began to materialize in the black, like coming upon a coloured light in the dark. There was blue around the perimeter of the black, and then the black faded to white, leaving behind little black ants on the white. Slowly, the undefined blobs came into focus, and she realized that walls were blue, and the ceiling was speckled with black dots. There was a stead beeping, and an itch on the inside of her elbow. Her mind was groggy and slow to come back to reality as she tried to decide whether this was a dream or a memory. The clothes on her body felt too uncomfortable to be a dream, so she assumed a memory. She pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her arms felt weak and debilitated, unable to support her weight. She looked down at herself, and immediately registered shock. Her arms were thinner than they have ever been, and her veins were prominent. She lifted her hands and felt her ribs, which were almost at the point of being visible. She'd never really thought herself curvaceous until she saw her body now. She was what women strove to be, and it was _hideous._

"Let's pull the plug." a grim, tired voice said softly in the hallway. Her eyes rose to the door, and in walked an older, black, male doctor in a lab coat, followed by a black girl and a white man. All three looked worn to the bone. A smile graced Audrey's lips.

"Bruce. Jayden." _What a nice memory this is._

The trio of people looked up at her in complete and utter shock. Jayden was just about as thin as Audrey herself, her points and angles sticking out. Bruce looked like he'd been through a war. The two completely bypassed the doctor, each taking one of her hands.

"How do you feel? Do you remember anything?" Jayden questioned. Audrey looked at her.

"This is one fucked up dream. When the hell did this ever happen? You two never were friends." this caused Jayden to burst out laughing and Bruce to drop his head down on the bed. Audrey turned her eyes to the one seemingly sane entity in the room.

"Am I going crazy?" she questioned him. He laughed heartily.

"No, Miss Habicht. You've been in a coma for three months." her heart nearly stopped at those words.

"Hold on a minute. So you mean I finally am out of the pit called hell in my mind?" he nodded, laughing again. She zoned out, looking at the floor as she realized she probably sounded insane to these people.

"Why am I so pointy?" she questioned irritably, causing another bout of laughter from the two at her bedside as she focused her thoughts again.

"You had excess fat on your body. You burned it off in the early days of the coma. If you wish to regain the weight, I suggest high calorie foods and working out. Your muscle mass has also been steadily decreasing." he crossed over to her right side, where Jayden was, and pulled down the shoulder of her uncomfortable hospital gown.

"Your shoulder has healed nicely. It's almost fortunate, you being in a coma. From the stories I've heard these past months, you would never have let that heal." she looked down at her shoulder, a new circular scar to add to the other ones.

"I got shot..." she slowly recalled, "by some dude working for... Joker." the doctor beamed.

"Correct! He also severely sprained your wrist." a new thought dawned on Audrey as she watched the doctor.

"My God, I won't fit into any of my clothes." this caused Jayden to nearly explode, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Bruce shook his head.

* * *

After another few days in the hospital, Audrey was released, only to then realize, she _had _no clothes. Jayden had brought her things left at her own apartment, and they barely fit. The jeans were falling off, so Jayden provided a belt, and the tank top only accentuated her rail thinness. Bruce was driving her to a department store, when she realized something.

"Hold on. You told the doctor to pull the plug." she looked at him, and his grip tightened on the wheel, turning his knuckles white in a familiar way.

"I was done with the torture of hoping you would wake up." was all he said. She twisted the ring around her finger.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I learned a long time ago that you are more stubborn than a mule. Even if the officers tried to keep you in, you would sneak out." he parked in a parking garage and looked at her.

"Are you ready to face the world?" she barked out a laugh, sounding all too much like her old self.

"A better question; is the world ready to face me?" she climbed out of the Lamborghini and stretched, feeling her joints crack. Bruce climbed out the other side. She surveyed him for a moment, reassuring herself that she was awake. He was clean shaven, the animal on his face gone after her first day. The dark circles were lighter than they had been, and his face appeared much less gaunt than before. She had no doubt that Alfred had forced him into this state of well being.

As she focused again, she realized Bruce was watching her watching him with a laughing twinkle in his eyes and a smug smirk. She put her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"Why are you staring at me?"

"You've got food on your face." she teased, rounding the car and walking by him. She could imagine him wiping his face behind her, scowling at the revelation that she lied. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against him. Then he paused.

"Your stomach is hard."

"I've been stripped of all my fat." she pointed out.

"No. Harder than muscle." she rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to invent new medical problems for me forever?" she questioned, twisting in his grip and facing him. He frowned slightly.

"We're going back to the hospital after this trip." she let out a groan.

"Fine. You're still imagining things." she wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging slightly with her new and worsened.

"You're so light." he muttered.

"I'll get fatter soon, leave me alone." she pouted, and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I don't care about your weight. Now let's get you clothes."

"Not a lot. I'm _actually _planning on putting on weight, so they won't fit soon, hopefully." he let go of her and took her hand, leading her into the store, where he immediately lost her among the clothes racks.

Three hours and some five hundred dollars later, Audrey had a modest wardrobe that would last her about two weeks without washing. She thought this seemed appropriate, and took care to buy pants in her old size instead of her new, and a couple belts. They stowed the clothes in the trunk, and then the couple drove back to the hospital in silence. Just to piss Bruce off, Audrey began to get creative.

"What if it's a tumour? What if I have cancer? What if there is an alien baby in my stomach? What if someone implanted a bomb there? What if it's a wall of blood leaking out of my liver? What if my intestines are swelling and are going to explode? What if I have some disease that makes my organs bloat until they crush eachother? What if-" Bruce landed a hand over her mouth, and she laughed at the pale look on his face.

"Could you not?" he questioned.

"But it's fun." she said behind his hand. Bruce could only make out, "Badavun."

"I'm going to lock you in a closet for the rest of your life." he muttered, pulling into a parking spot with only one hand, then shut the car off and released her mouth. He marched her inside, and a nurse directed the two straight to her previous doctor. He looked at the two oddly.

"I haven't even finished charting on you yet, and you're back." he commented. She laughed.

"Bruce is paranoid."

"Feel her stomach." the doctor placed a large, calloused hand on her stomach, and his eyes went wide.

"Lay down." she jumped onto the bed and he pulled her shirt up, exposing a bump that would be mistaken for fat any time.

"I really don't need to do this, but you won't believe me unless I do. Take this." he handed her a long, rectangular box and she closed her hand on it.

"You think I'm pregnant?" she questioned.

"It would seem so. About in the beginning of the first trimester, maybe?" she sat up and pulled her shirt down, then disappeared for a few minutes. She came back with a solemn look on her face and pitched the box and test.

"Well?"

"I hate you." she snapped at the doctor. He laughed.

"Don't want a kid?" she glared at him, "That's like asking me if I'm ready to give up my virginity for the first time." she snapped. At that one, Bruce had to laugh as well. She shot a pointed glare at him.

"Why am I already showing?"

"You lost all of the fat on your body that would have hidden it. Although, it appears you're going to be one of those women who only gets pregnant in one place." she scowled at him, standing beside Bruce. He put an arm around her shoulders and turned so he could talk quietly to her.

"Do you want to give it up? Abortion? Adoption?"

"You're just glad it wasn't cancer." she muttered. He grinned.

"Well, yes." he admitted. She elbowed him, and he winced.

"We're going to have to put off the wedding for a few months." she decided. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she squeaked. The doctor laughed.

"Well, now that that's over with, I've a few words to share." she just looked over Bruce's shoulder at him, well aware he wasn't going to let go any time soon."

"That solves the mysterious loss of fat from your body, at least. Now, yes, you can still eat like a pig and work out until your belly gets too big. Take it easy with the horse play, and expect strange food cravings. In fact, you'll probably eat a lot due to the baby as well. We can do an ultra sound now, since this is about the normal time of the first."

"Fine. But I want pirohy after." she demanded of Bruce as the doctor led her away.

"God, you're going to ruin my health." he decided.

"No, I love pirohy. Mom used to make them all the time. Don't judge me."

* * *

Audrey stopped the treadmill and walked with it until it slowed to a halt. Sweat beaded along her brow and spine, and she could totally go for fried chicken right about now. She downed one of the ten water bottles on the floor by her, and then pitched the eight empty ones into a recycling bin. Her muscle was sure as hell returning, her legs fattening up again. Her hips and ribs weren't so prominent, and with some help from Alfred, she would building up muscles in her arms by lifting. She'd been "awake again" as they called it, for nearly two months now, landing her in the five month range of the pregnancy. Her stomach was definitely sticking out now, even with her layer of padding back. It was almost time for her to quit working out, but she just couldn't give it up. She knew Bruce would have her head if he knew she still worked out. So she worked out while he worked, and Alfred remained silent.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, then went up the stairs to shower. Ace ran with her into the bedroom and sniffed at her while she picked out clean clothes for the day, picking up a large sweatshirt of Bruce's and a pair of maternity skinny jeans that Olivia had bought for her. Since George's death at the hands of Joker, Olivia lived in his house with her parents. They helped her with her own pregnancy, and then the two pregnant ladies helped eachother. Olivia was about a month ahead of Audrey. As it turned out, George Habicht was not just an over spender. He literally had millions of dollars in saving for Olivia.

She let out a breath and stepped out of the shower, then got dressed and padded downstairs.

"Have a good time, Audrey?" Alfred questioned, in the kitchen with the smell of what she desired wafting away from him.

"How did you know I wanted fried chicken?" she questioned, walking over and pushing up her sleeves.

"Call it intuition."

"Yes, I did have a good time." she commented as she tore the skin off a leg. Alfred shook his head at her lack of manners.

"You are just like Mrs. Wayne was when she was pregnant. Never stopped eating, it seemed. Didn't care what people saw her doing, she just wanted what she wanted." he smiled fondly in reminiscence, and she patted his shoulder.

"I'm home!" Bruce's voice called from the garage, only a few feet away. The two other residents gave him a dry look, Audrey with a chicken leg sticking out of her mouth. He grinned at them and slid up to Audrey, wrapping his arms around her waist, hands resting on her stomach.

"And how are we doing today?"

"How are we doing everyday, Bruce?" she questioned, taking the meat out of her mouth.

"If you want to go out, go out. But I don't want you driving." she looked at him, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"What are you, my mother or the father?" he laughed and pressed a kiss to her temple before going upstairs to change. Audrey looked outside the window, into the August afternoon. The sun was still bright in the sky, and it was about ninety degrees if she ever left the house. Somehow, that didn't sound like nice weather to her.

"Tomorrow we can go on a walk through the property." Alfred suggested. She beamed at him.

"Sounds nice. I'll have to find clothes though." she pursed her lips in thought, trying to recall if any of her shorts were clean, and where they were.

"Sitting on top of the dryer, where you left them a week ago." Alfred reminded her gently. She giggled.

"Good thing I have you. Otherwise I'd probably forget where the food is." he laughed quietly.

"We wouldn't want that."

"AUDREY!" she froze, and Alfred made an odd face.

"I didn't leave any evidence!" she hissed quietly.

"You can't remember if your shirt is facing forward. There's probably a water bottle still out." Alfred responded. She cursed under her breath and shot out the side door, feeling her extra weight as she moved. She got outside and stopped the handles with a chair just in time for Bruce to get there. He yanked on the doors, and she stood back, arms crossing under her bust.

"What if you slipped and hit your head while you were running?" he demanded. She scowled.

"So I'm forgetful and somewhat moody. I am still coordinated. I'm not going to slip and die on a _treadmill _which has _safety settings _while Alfred is _just down the hallway_. Besides, that was the last time anyway. I'm getting to fat too be doing that any more." he frowned then.

"Don't call yourself fat. And if I catch you doing it again, I'm going to break that damned thing." she grinned cheekily.

"I could run around the property." his eyes narrowed, and she waited to see if he would hit the doors hard enough to break the chairs. In the beginning, he'd been working out with her, getting back into Batman shape after three months of lazing off. He only went out three nights a week still, untrusting of Audrey and her ability to care for herself.

"I can run faster than you." he pointed out.

"That's what you think." she teased. His foot connected with the door, and the chairs broke, the pieces falling to the ground and skittering away while he pushed the doors open and stalked out onto the deck.

"Try me." she took a joking step back, and his arms shot out, wrapping around her like vices and crushing her to him. She laughed against him.

"Can I finish eating now?" she questioned. He looked at her.

"What are you going to do after dinner?"

"Come out here and read that book I got."

"That book is inappropriate." she rolled her eyes.

"My mind is inappropriate. What a perfect fit." she pushed out of his grip and went back inside to finish chowing down on fried chicken. After, she brushed her teeth and grabbed _Going Bovine _off the coffee table. She was getting to a good part, after Cameron had just saved a yard gnome and turned him human. She walked out onto the deck and found Bruce on her chaise, dressed in cargo shorts and a black tee shirt. She looked at him, and shook her head before sitting between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her, then leaned against the back and commenced his nap before patrolling, and she began reading. By the time night actually rolled around, the roles were somewhat reversed, Audrey asleep and Bruce awake. Stars twinkled above, unobscured by the smog like atmosphere above Gotham. For a few minutes, Bruce let the moment of peace linger, before lifting his fiancée up and carrying her upstairs to their bed. He spoke to Alfred briefly before leaving.

**No, this is actually _not _the end, there is a short epilogue coming to y'all next week. Chill your uteri. **


	27. Epilogue

**As of right now, this story as 114 reviews. I know that may not be a lot for some people, but for me that's incredible. I have to thank all of you who are still sticking around _for _sticking around through all of the rough patches. I love the input and praise I've gotten, and it will definitely help with the reboot of this that I'm currently working on.**

**That said, sorry this is late. Band camp ended Friday and I've been missing my laptop for a few days.**

* * *

Audrey watched Crispin, her son, run across the lawn after the now ageing Ace. Crispin was truly a hybrid of his parents, with curly dark brown hair that curled all around his ears. He was tan from hours spent out in the sun, and had on a pair of bluejeans shorts and a tee shirt, in his bare feet. Crispin's third birthday was two days ago, and Jayden and Olivia were still at the house, with their own children.

Suddenly, another little boy with dark mocha skin and dark black hair shaven close to his head shot out into the lawn and joined the chase. Next came a white little girl with wavy light brown hair, running in her pink sun dress.

"Sorry Audrey. She refused to put on pants." Olivia apologized as she followed the children out onto the deck. Audrey laughed.

"Not my problem if the boys get a peak of her lovely undies." Audrey shrugged and Jayden's boisterous laugh erupted behind Olivia.

"Not like they care yet. I just think that Bruce and Bob would be embarrassed. 'I raised a gentleman. Blah blah blah.'" Olivia and Jayden sat in chairs around Audrey's and set their drinks down.

"So, three years ago next month, you got married. Three years ago, two days ago you had a kid. Three and a half years ago, you fell in love. Three years ago, you were still fighting crime with your bare fists. Does this all seem strange now?" Audrey shrugged in response to Jayden's question.

"Not really. It seems... natural. Although the fact that my cousin is running around with my kid is kind of bizarre." Olivia laughed as Audrey put her usual lighthearted spin on heavy thought.

"He's less of a cousin." she pointed out. Audrey shrugged.

"True."

"Jacob!" Bob's loud, deep voice snapped behind the women. They all laughed while Bob began to move to chase his son. The first thing the large black man did, was trip over the edge of the wooden deck. This only caused Jayden to laugh even harder as the other man came outside. Bruce rested his arms around Audrey's neck and laid his hands over her sternum.

"Aww, aren't they still the most beautiful couple." Audrey threw an irritated glare at Olivia.

"I'll throw a shoe at you."

"And then Audrey goes and slaughters the image by opening her mouth. Bruce, how did you get stuck with this sad lot?" Jayden questioned between bouts of laughter.

"Some horrible trick, I'm sure." he teased. Audrey elbowed him, and he tapped a teasing beat on her chest. Tingles spread from the spot and made the hairs on her arms raise.

"Oh gross. Someone shield the kids' eyes." Olivia continued prodding. Audrey ignored her, instead trying to keep her thoughts straight while Bruce tried to wreck her mental state. Suddenly, she found herself in the air.

"Oh my God, put me _down_!" she shrieked as he carried her to the fountain. Jayden and Olivia both watched her, mildly concerned.

"Jay! Liv, _help me_!" she flailed in his arms, and the girls moved quickly, crossing the distance in a few large steps and gripping Audrey's hands, then attempting to pull her free. Bruce, despite not being Batman anymore, still worked out on a regular basis and thus was considerably stronger than the two women. Audrey continued kicking, Olivia and Jayden continued pulling, while Bob and the kids laughed at them off to the side, their game of tag paused. When it became clear that the women had lost but hadn't realized it, Audrey resorted to a tactic she hadn't wanted to use.

"If you throw me in there, you are going to give our child brain damage." she warned. Bruce's step paused briefly.

"Crispin isn't hanging off you." he said, rather smugly.

"Not that child." Bruce's step faltered, and he came crashing down onto the stone pathway. He cushioned Audrey, and then she looked at him as he dropped his head back against the path.

"You're evil. Pure, unadulterated evil." he groaned.

"You're having another kid?!" Bob called, "You are _insane_." Jayden threw her son's juice box at him.

"You couldn't have told me that before I decided to torture you and save me injury?" she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Nope. I was going to tell you tomorrow." he gripped her face in his hands and stared at her for a few moments.

"You are completely serious." he pulled her down against his chest.

"Oh come on, Bruce. You're only thirty one. A second kid is _not _going to suck the life out of you."

"Just out of my wallet." she smacked his chest.

"You're a multimillionaire. Don't complain."


End file.
